Bad Romance
by Tuney-pon
Summary: AU. Everyone tells lies, & everyone keeps secrets--even the people you think you know best. But when lies are uncovered, & secrets revealed--did they really expect things to get better? Simplicity is only wishful thinking, after all. Pairings inside.
1. Mask

_**Author's Note:**__ BAHAHA!!!!! 8D We've finally done it!! After EXACTLY--as of today--three weeks of working on it…the first chapter is ready to be posted~! And I got it up THIRTY EFFIN' SECONDS BEFORE MIDNIGHT!!! -is proud-  
Now - for a little info, ne? Well, this here magnificent compilation of winsauce (OVER 9000 CUPS OF IT~!! ) started out as a roleplay between myself (Tofu-Master), and Harmony283. If you've checked out our profile, you'll already know this is a joint account we created together, for our collaborative works. -nod-  
So…yes. Because it's US--be prepared for madness. Or Sparta. Or whichever else you prefer.  
Also….the title? There's a bit of a story behind that, as well. Throughout the entire creation of this little bundle of joy of ours--almost the entire time, either one - or both - of us have been listening to "Bad Romance" by Lady GaGa. The damn woman is inspirational. But after a while--we realized that the song's theme goes terrifyingly well with our plot. And with most of the pairings, too. Geeze--do we have issues? Not to mention--many times throughout the duration of this, one of the characters (mostly Lavi) will either be listening to, singing, humming, or thinking about this song. So. Yes. -nod-_

_LOOK IN OUR PROFILE, FOR A LIST OF WHO PLAYS WHOM~_

_**Warnings:**__ Mass-overload of TOO MUCH PLOT!! Smut, drug-use, homosexuality (male and female), swearing galore, violence/slight gore, multiple pairings, inside jokes (if you catch them, I might tell you~), mentions of noncon/dubcon, mental trauma, severe angst, and, uhm….I guess we'll add more when we figure it out? -is SURE she's forgetting some already-_

_**Pairings: **__-takes deep breath- Kanda x Lavi, Tyki x Lavi, Sheryl x Lavi, Sheryl x Tokusa, Cross x Allen, Allen x Link, Anita x Lenalee, Kanda x Bak, Tyki x Wisely, (mild) Wisely x Allen, Rikei x Shifu…..most likely more to come in the future. X.x_

_**Disclaimer: **__Unfortunately, we don't own D. Gray-man. Though it'd be wonderful we did~  
Nor do we own Lady GaGa, or the song "Bad Romance" (or "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" by TISM--which appears as Lavi's ringtone. xD ), though…I wish I owned GaGa herself. xD_

_Enjoi, m'dears~_

**Chapter One  
"****Mask"**

Lavi burst in through the doors of the cafeteria, his arms stretched over his head, and mouth open wide in a loud yawn. He perked up immediately, however, when he saw the head of silver hair at their usual table. If Allen was here, that meant so was Lenalee...and hopefully Yuu-chan, as well.

An end to his boredom.

The young Bookman apprentice made his way swiftly towards the aforementioned table, and sat down beside his reluctant best friend, who was - seemingly happily?- slurping away at his soba.

"Well hiya~" the redhead drawled, slinging a casual arm around the Japanese's shoulders. He smiled at Lenalee, and stuck his tongue out at Allen.

Kanda scowled slightly as he felt a heavy arm drape ever so casually around his shoulders. He didn't even have to look to know who it was. That insufferable redhead. He resisted the urge to just shrug the arm off, and instead gave his customary 'Che', before focusing entirely on his noodles. After all, he had practice to get to, and the cafeteria was getting damn noisy now with all the little freshmen swarming in from the buses

Allen, on the other hand, seemed way too happy about the day, but then he had just finished his third stack of pancakes, so it was no wonder the boy was in a good mood.

"Good morning Lavi!" he said cheerfully. "Or...good night, you look like you're about to fall asleep again." He let out a snicker and kicked the older teen under the table. "What're you doing at night?"

Kanda thought he would promptly spit out his soba at that.

It took a lot more effort than Lenalee Lee would care to admit, to not choke on her yogurt from laughter. The look on Kanda's face...was priceless. But of course, she wasn't supposed to notice these things. So she would play it cool.

"What's wrong, Kanda-kun?" she asked with worry. "Do you have a stomach-ache? Your face is twisted funny..."

Lavi couldn't help but let out an obnoxious guffaw at this. He was probably the only person who could see through the Chinese girl's 'mask' - after all, he wore a very good one of his own - but he would keep her secret. It was too amusing, watching the other boy's struggle to remain 'proper' in front of their 'innocent' friend.

"Hmm...funny you should ask, Allen!" he chirped happily, clapping Kanda on the back. "But...why don't you ask Yuu-chan here? I'm sure he could answer better than I could..."

Then again...the boy also rather enjoyed torturing Lenalee, and as he watched her struggle to keep a straight face at his last comment, he was suddenly reminded why.

Allen's eyes widened ever so slightly at the vulgar comment, and, casting Lenalee a worried look--it wasn't like he could say something like _this_ in front of her!--before struggling to find the words. "What are _you_ talking about, Lavi? Why would the BaKanda know what you were up to last night?"

Kanda was pretty sure he'd maim the man.

Castrate him--something, with that insufferable grin, too wide, too--too…it was too early in the morning for this, he decided with a pointed glare at the both of them, and then a less scathing one at Lenalee. Lavi knew better, didn't he? Or no, he probably didn't. He was an idiot after all. "Don't get me involved in your fucking shit," he ground out, though he couldn't help but feel, well...

He never knew what the redhead did anymore. Not that it bothered him. No. But his Soba _did_ suddenly taste very bad, and he pushed it away with a disgusted look on his face. "Che, whatever. I'm leaving."

Lenalee sent a quick wink to Lavi, while Allen was distracted by Kanda's--well, _Kanda-ness_, and the redhead let out a short laugh, smiling back at her.

"Well...I think I'm going to go get ready for my next class," she said innocently, smiling sweetly at Allen once they'd regained the boy's attention. "After all, I need to do my stretched before Gym...Lavi-kun, you should probably go chase after Kanda-kun--you never know what he'll do when left by himself." This, of course, was _meant_ to be a perverted reference, disguised as an innocent one, seeming like a perverted one. And by the horrified look on Allen's face, she decided she'd done well. "Bye, Allen-kun, bye Lavi-kun~"

Lavi let out a soft chuckle as Lenalee left the table. "That girl...she really doesn't have a CLUE what she's saying, eh Moyashi??" He reached over, and gave the shorter boy a noogie. "Ah well...I suppose I probably should go after Yuu-chan... We have to partner-up for Biology next block, anyways, and if he's mad at me..."

Allen just blinked at the older man, watching the mop of red hair make it's through the swarm of itty-bitty freshmen (it wasn't hard, after all--the man _was_ tall) until it disappeared through the huge double doors at the other end of the room.

Well. _That_ was an interesting morning wasn't it? He looked down at the dirtied plate and sighed, smiling ever so slightly. 'But then that's what I like about them, I guess,' and he could 'guess' at a lot of things, right?

******Kanda*****

The man was following him, wasn't he? Yes. He was. Of course he was. Kanda gripped his sword tightly in his hand, almost wishing it was Mugen, but knowing because of damn school policies that bringing weapons to school got you suspended. Not that he cared for the place--he didn't, who gave a fuck about education?

But then Tiedoll was paying for his room and board, and it wasn't like he really wanted to--well...no, he wasn't lazy either but...he owed the man. Even if he hated to admit it. It didn't make the fact any less true either. So he let out a sigh and continued walking--walking, walking--listening to the echo of steps trying to match his own--and soon he was in front of the Training Room doors.

They were vacant this early in the morning, he was sure. Everyone always used the one with better equipment in the front. So it made sense he'd come here, right? To be alone and train, right? He pulled off the key that the trainer had given him (well, okay, he had filched it, but it was just a damn key, right?). But he stopped before he placed the key in the lock, sighing once more.

"What the fuck do you _want_ Baka Usagi?"

Lavi feigned hurt, coming to a stop behind the older boy. He wrapped his arms around Kanda, and buried his face in the Asian's soft hair, letting out an indignant sniff.

"Whaddaya mean, 'what do I want'?" he huffed, hugging Kanda tighter. "Yuu-chan's my best friend - it's only natural I'd come to apologize after I made him angry..."

He let out another sigh, and stood up, a slightly more serious expression on his face. "Besides. I only said that to freak out the Moyashi, y'know that. I wasn't even _with_ you last night. Or the night before, or the night before that. Why'd ya hafta go and get so offended? It was a joke...you know how I am."

He went quiet after that, waiting for Kanda to say something.

--

Why the man had to touch him so much, Kanda would never know, but he could never quite stop his shoulders from tensing when those arms wrapped around him. No matter how many times he told them 'he's safe', they still wouldn't listen. Not that he'd ever admit to arguing with body parts, but--well--it didn't matter, he decided, as he attempted to relax.

"Che, I know how you are," he replied gruffly, though he hated the fact that he choked. Just a little. On the words. "But where the fuck _do_ you go?"

Oh shit. Why did he--he cringed inwardly and waited for those arms to tighten, or pull away. He knew the boy couldn't talk about it, he had figured that part out already, so why did--?

Lavi stiffened - and he _knew_ Kanda noticed - before pulling away. He didn't want to talk about this...he _couldn't_. Not if he didn't want to get Kanda involved...not if he wanted to keep him safe...

"I...I've been helping Gramps out with some stuff... Work, y'know? Jus' because he's getting' old, an' all...can't do all the troublesome stuff on his own anymore..." He knew he was slipping, but damnit!! It was so--so _hard_ to lie to him! "Please, Yuu...don't ask me this anymore. I'm not trying t'be a bad friend, or a 'suspicious character', but--this is just...stuff I don't wanna get you involved in."

Kanda let out a snort. 'It's always that, isn't it?' Not that he would say it out loud. "Che. Of course."

He turned around to face the man, and watched as he fidgeted nervously. Did the redhead even know how often his hand reached up to touch his eye patch? The eye patch he always wore because he said it made him 'look like a pirate'? Why was he even fucking _analyzing_ that? It shouldn't matter.

No it shouldn't. And it didn't. He knew it didn't because--because he was Kanda Yuu. And Kanda Yuu didn't worry about those things. Ever. Especially when it came to idiotic redheads. So he turned back around again and fumbled with the key, turning the knob when it clicked and stepping through...

Oh God. His eyes. He decided right then he wanted to gouge them out. Really, he did. Because--because--oh holy hell--what were-

The two bodies on one of the mats--right in the damned front of the room--he could see it--everything--and--froze in mid... Ugh...no. Just. No.

"What. The _fuck_?"

Immediately then, the two bodies scrambled, grabbing at clothes, which were strewn everywhere, hastily attempting to put them back on, as if that would give them any form of decency. As if that would help _anything_. The damage had already been done. The image still painfully burned into his retinas, and Lavi? Well, the idiot was _laughing_ of course. What else would he be doing?

"Y-Yuu...Yuu-chan!!!!" the redhead gasped out, clutching his stomach tightly as his frame was wracked with hysterical laughter. Oh man...this was just too great. This was the _best_. And he would **never** let Kanda live it down. "G-geeze...Yuu-chan....that was..._fuck_! That was _amazing_!!!"

His laughter came back, then, ten-fold, and he--promptly fell over, hitting his head on the wall. Hard.

"_Gaaahh_..!!" He slid to the floor, his head pounding, and his vision flickering.

"Fuuuuuuccckkk........" he groaned. But before Kanda could taunt him for it - call him stupid - he grinned absentmindedly, and spoke up. Maybe if he admitted to it on his own... "Yeah, yeah...I know, that was my own fault... Stupid, right? Eugh......" He didn't even bother standing up. Damn...stupid...Karma.

And Kanda didn't help the man up. Why should he, after all? With THAT image in his head, and why the hell it was funny--he didn't know. Why the hell anyone wanted to have sex _before 8AM_ in the morning--he didn't know that either. Except he didn't think about that sort of thing. No. He had just wanted to train--nothing more. Have a bit of relaxation before going to his first class...

--

Apparently Karma wasn't on his side. But then, Karma was a bitch. And if he had had Mugen, he would have threatened those two, but he didn't. And now, here he was--_not thinking_ about that. No. It didn't help that the guy was in his class. Or that Lavi was bemoaning his bad luck, with an icepack firmly placed on his head (taped there, like it'd do more than give him weird looks).

This just wasn't his day, he decided. Resting his head against the cool surface of the table, not even looking up when the teacher walked in, or when Lavi started poking him, repeatedly, in the side.

Lavi groaned again, thunking his head down on the table...which was probably not the best idea, in his state. "Uuuuunnngghhh........."

He ignored the teacher's demand to sit up and pay attention. Hell, even if he _could_ sit up - without pain - he wouldn't be able to focus. Not with this pounding motherfucker of a headache, at least.

"Yuuuuuuuuu........" He poked his friend again, tilting his head slightly to peer up at the older boy through his bangs. "....d'ya have any Aspirin...or Ibuprofen...or something....? Please...? Y'know I love ya, right?" He graced the Japanese with one of his most dazzling - in his opinion - smiles.

Which didn't work. Kanda blatantly told himself--it wouldn't work. Because it didn't. He knew those smiles. He knew that whenever they were given it could _never_ equal anything good. So he kicked the redhead in the shin and turned his head away.

After all, it was the idiot's own fault he was in pain. Not that kicking him made it any better. Not that the teacher didn't just send him another scathing look as said redhead-idiot howled in pain.

"Kanda, Lavi."

Oh, but of course she'd speak up now. "If you two can't stop...bothering each other, then I'm sending you down to the office. And Lavi, why on earth do you have an icepack strapped to your head? If you're hurt then go to the nurse!"

Lavi hissed angrily at Kanda, through clenched teeth, "What the Hell was _that_ for, BaKanda???" Then, to the teacher, "Sorry...it won't happen again. _Right_...Yuu-chan...?"

But their sensei insisted that he leave the class, so...what could he do? He packed his books back into his bags, stood up - albeit woozy - and left the room. He'd call Bookman when he got outside--ask for a ride home. After all, if he wasn't going to be in class...then what was the point of being here at _all_?

It wasn't fair. Sure...it _had_ been his own fault he'd hit his head...but did Yuu-chan _really_ have to kick him like that? He already hurt enough... With a sigh, he pushed the front doors of the school open, and stepped outside, sitting down near the bike racks. The redhead pulled out his phone, and dialed the old Panda's number.

Finally, after what had seemed like forever, the other line was answered. Lavi let out a sigh of relief. "Hey listen, Jiji-"

/Why are you calling?/ Bookman interrupted. /You're in school...are you not? You'd better not tell me you're skipping, boy.../

Lavi gulped at the warning tone in his mentor's voice, and shook his head, before remembering that the old man couldn't see him. "No...No, I'm not. I...hit my head. Got an ice-pack taped to my head...eh-heh... The teacher sent me out of the class, so I figured I might as well just go home...if I'm not gunna learn......." he slowly trailed off.

Bookman let out a quiet grunt, followed up by more silence. After this continued for another 6 minutes, Lavi made a soft sound of curiosity. Finally-

/Tyki is coming to pick you up. You'll go with him, and help him with whatever he has to do today. Understood?/

Lavi nodded, then again remembered he couldn't be seen. Clearing his throat, he corrected himself. "Yessir. Any idea how long till the pretty-boy gets here?"

"......" Bookman paused, then sighed heavily. "About 2 minutes. ...You know as well as I do, how that man drives."

"HA! So I do. Thanks Gramps. I'll see ya later, ya ol' fart." Laughing heartily, he hung up the phone before his guardian could retaliate

******Kanda******

"Now then, class," the teacher turned back to the class as if the redhead hadn't just stormed out of the room, "turn to page 546, and you will see..." But after that, of course, Kanda tuned her out.

Not that he was worried about the redhead's reaction, no. It was the idiot's own fault, after all. Really, and knowing him, he probably wasn't even going to the nurses office. Knowing him, he was sitting right outside, dialing a number of someone he probably knew, that Kanda didn't know. And no, he wasn't just a little worried. After all...well...he just. Wasn't. Right.

Well, maybe he was deeper in thought than he thought when a ruler smacked down on the desk right in front of him.

"Kanda," the teacher hummed, too friendly, and a glance at the clock showed it was, in fact, at the end of class. When had _that_ happened?

"You're staying after class. We need to talk." And if it hadn't been for his well known death-glare, he was certain someone would have said "oooh!" Or some other...childish...nonsense. Instead, they were smart and shuffled out, quietly shooting them glances, but keeping their mouths tactfully shut.

Unlike a certain redhead. Which he wasn't going to think about. No.

******Tyki******

Tyki Mikk hated impromptu changes of plans. He decided that post-haste and post-partum when he had been oh so elegantly talking to one of his brother's...associates and--

"But I'm not a baby sitter."

/Of course not, but you're going to have to go there anyway,/ the old man's voice rasped over the other end of the line, and he could tell the man was irritated. Unbelievably so. Why was everyone so _irritated_ all the time? Tyki could never quite understand it, but then he didn't question it. After all, it would be bad if he lost a customer due to his brash actions.

So he sighed and agreed. "Fine, fine, I'll be there in a moment." And just like so, and--well a yellow light always meant **speed up**, right? He felt his lips twitch as he did an elaborate U-turn and was suddenly speeding back in the opposite direction. Picking up one redheaded 'idiot apprentice' it was.

/And make sure he meets Sheryl this time./

He felt his blood run cold (not really) at that. Ah, "Already?"

/He needs to meet the man at some point./

"That might not be the best idea~" But it was tempting. Everything about the redhead was...tempting.

/And you're scolding me?/ The older man scoffed, before slipping the phone shut, and leaving Tyki Mikk to himself, and the car, and his mad, mad driving skills.

--

Lavi had very nearly fallen asleep, when he was roused by the loud screeching of tires on pavement. Ahh...Tyki was here. Lavi let a wide grin stretch across his face, as he opened his eyes and sat up. He liked Tyki--the guy was pretty cool. Plus, he disagreed with Jiji a lot...and that was more than reason enough!

"Ne, Tyki!!" he called, standing up shakily, and almost - _almost_ - losing his precarious balance. Damnit...his head shouldn't still be spinning like this...

He walked over to the car, and made a rude face at the Portuguese man, before breaking out into a fit of laughter - which hurt his head--but, he ignored it. "What's up?"

Tyki took one look at the boy and knew the old man had lied to him. 'Baby sit a teenaged redhead' was one thing. 'Babysit' an obviously hurt teenage redhead was very, very different.

"Now what, pray-tell, happened to you?" he pondered, watching the boy stagger around to the passenger's side of the seat, and fiddle with the handle to the door

Lavi grinned, almost...proudly? Settling into the car, he pulled his seatbelt on, and then turned to the man beside him. "Well...I pissed Yuu-chan off today, then I followed him when he stalked off. He went to go into the training room......an' BAM. People having sex on the mats!! It was _amazing_. Yuu-chan's face...I don't think he'll _ever_ get over that. But anyways...I started laughing, an' I...sorta.....fell over. An' hit my head on the wall."

He averted his eyes, actually feeling mildly embarrassed. Then, "Now, _seriously_, Tyki-pon! What's up with _you_???"

Tyki blinked, taken a back slightly. "They...really had sex in such an obvious place?" Judging from the scowl on the others lips (it was really a pout, actually, not that--not that he was paying that close of attention)… "Ah...yes...I'm...fine."

"Yeah, they did. An' Yuu-chan _walked in on them_!! Honestly, I think he was more mortified than _they_ were....." he laughed again, then suddenly clutched at his head. "Owww.....gotta stop doin' that."

Tyki's eyes widened, and he would have smiled--would have but...the boy grabbed his head. "Are you sure you don't have a concussion?"

"Ughh...if I do, it'll go away. It'll get sick of me after I give _it_ a headache!!" The saddest part was...Lavi seemed genuinely confident of this.

Which really should have been amusing, except it wasn't. "I'm not quite sure how giving your headache a headache will make _you_ feel better, nor am I quite sure that's even possible." He paused to think over the concept, as he pulled out of the parking lot, and then sighed. "But if you're sure then..."

"Eh. Whether I'm right or wrong, I believe in the power of...well, believing...?" He chuckled again, though he didn't let it get out of hand this time. "So...what are we doin' today? Panda-jiji didn't tell me _anything_." The boy crossed his arms, a small pout forming on his lips.

And that wasn't attractive either...wait, no, scratch that--should have been amusing, but it wasn't that either. He let out a chuckle regardless. "Quite honestly? I'm supposed to be taking you to meet my brother, Sheryl. I'm sure the old man at least mentioned his name right?" He watched the redhead hum in accession and lean his head against the window with a cringe.

"Buuuut.....unfortunately--or luckily, depending on how you look at it--he's stuck in meetings until at _least_ 4PM so..." He cast another glance at the redhead before focusing on the road in front of him, which he really ought to pay more attention to, but didn't. "We're basically...doing whatever we want. You can choose." He only hoped he wouldn't regret that decision

"Hmm...your brother, huh? He as hot as you are, Tyki-pon~?" Lavi asked, winking flirtatiously. See...this was one of the things he loved about Tyki. He could flirt with the man, and no responsibilities would come out of it. It was innocent enough, clean fun. "And....how about that new library that jus' opened up? I actually haven't had a chance to check it out yet...which is utter blasphemy, I say!"

Tyki let out a low chuckle at that, and turned (albeit much _slower_ than he normally would have) onto the street.

"Hm, you'll have to see that for yourself, though I wouldn't get any...ideas...if I were you." Not that he was speaking from experience.

"Ehh...well, we'll see then. Personally, I doubt it's possible." He let out a giggle, and flipped his imaginary ponytail with his hand. God, he _loved_ making fun of those silly girls at his school. And Tyki had been known to join in on occasion, too. Though Lavi swore, if the man paid ANY less attention to the wheel than he already was.... Well, Tyki wouldn't be so pretty anymore.

"And a library, hm? I'm quite surprised you haven't been, but judging from how often you've been writing essays and such at important meetings..."

"_Ugh_. Tyki!! _Please_ don't mention the 'E' word!!!!" he begged, scrunching his face up in disgust. "I mean...c'mon. _Yuck_."

Tyki cast him a side long glance and just shook his head. "Only you, Lovey, only you." Though he knew the boy would get onto him for the nickname. He supposed it was half the point as he--whoops, that was a red light, wasn't it? Ah, well, it was barely 9AM in the morning--no one was out. All the kiddies were in school, and another glance at Lavi showed his face wasn't as pained as before.

So he stepped on the accelerator, and felt his lips twitch into that very familiar maniacal grin. Yes. Tyki loved driving. He had mad driving skills, after all.

Lavi's smile was wiped clean off his face, in the matter of a second. "_What_. Did. You. Just. Call. Me...? _Tyki_."

Lavi was **not** amused. At all. He'd corrected the older man _enough_ times!!! "And _hey_!!! That was a red-light, you idiot!!" But the smile was back on the boy's face, if only slightly.

"Oh come now," He laughed at the boy's mortified expression. "This way we'll get to the library that much faster!" And yes, indeed that was another red light. Then a yellow one. Oh, he had a few green--that was good wasn't it? And of course, whenever he saw a police car, he slowed down (he wasn't _that_ much of a psychotic driver! Honest!), only to speed back up again.

In fact, he was almost certain he had the boy plastered to the windowsill by the time the library came into view

The moment the car pulled to a stop, Lavi wrenched the door open, unbuckled his seatbelt, and stumbled out of the vehicle. That...was...fun. But still too dangerous!

"TYKI MIKK!!!" he shouted, when he'd finally managed to quit gasping for breath. Hyperventilation was _not_ fun. "Were you _trying_ to get us killed? Geeze!!!!"

"Not killed." Tyki's lips tilted into a smirk. "It was for the...experience~" And soon, he found himself patting the boy on the shoulder and leading him towards the glass doors of the library. Suddenly, almost, maybe, a little bit apologetic about the whole thing, with the way the boy still stumbled. 'Maybe the peace and quiet will do him good,'...except of course, well...he liked making things interesting, didn't he?~

******Kanda******

It was pretty much common knowledge that the BaKanda would always be in a bad mood. Morning, noon, even at the end of the day--he always wore a perpetual frown on, that even _Lenalee_ couldn't wipe off his face. So it really shouldn't have come as a surprise that he wasn't in a good mood now, especially considering how the morning went.

But--but it wasn't just that. Not that Allen really paid attention to the man (he didn't. He hated his guts!) but that scowl seemed to set just a little further, a little more pronounced, and it didn't make matters any better that he had stalked out literally 4 minutes after class should have ended.

Should have--and, well, let's not talk about why _Allen_ was late. Because it wasn't his fault! Really! He just...well, no one had woken him up until after everyone left and teachers just shouldn't be allowed to do that! But...it wasn't like that mattered much now, it just meant he was left with speeding off towards his next class, and that's how he saw the BaKanda, silently fuming as he stalked down the hall, with no real intention of going to class. Probably. And Allen could have used that to his advantage--because Lenalee would have scolded him and that would've been funny--except Lavi wasn't with him. Which wasn't good. For a moment he thought 'Don't tell me he's killed him!', but the thought quickly died. 'No, no…he wouldn't. Not even _Kanda_ would kill him!' It was a small comfort, though, but he'd guess he'd have to wait till Lunchtime to figure anything else out. Because it wasn't like he'd walk up to the guy and ask, 'Did you kill any redheads today?'

He'd like to keep his important parts intact, thank you very--then he jumped, startled, when the bell (which was oh so lovely placed right above his head) started to ring. "OH crap--oh crap--oh--!" and he dashed, hurriedly, down the hall, not even paying attention when hands grabbed at his shoulder and tugged him back--moving up to cover his eyes--

"What the--!?"

******Lenalee******

Lenalee had stayed back a bit late in her own class, to help the teacher organize the multitude of bookshelves. She couldn't help but think this was more of a job for Lavi, but alas--the redhead was nowhere to be found.

When she'd left the classroom, and spotted Allen, she hadn't been able to resist the urge to sneak up on the boy. She crept closer, making sure her steps were silent and undetectable, and finally clasped her hands over the other's eyes.

"_So_!!" she whispered in his ear, grinning widely. "I can see why Kanda-kun would skip class...but what's _your_ excuse..?"

Allen flailed for a good couple of seconds before he recognized the voice puffing into his ear. "Lenalee! What are you--I mean--I'm going to be late for class!" He flailed some more, gripping at the girl's hands, but not too forcefully. "Besides, why the heck should the BaKanda get away with skipping if--and you're late for class too!"

"Aha~" the Chinese girl exclaimed, releasing her best friend. Her eyes gleamed mirthfully, as she pulled a hall-pass out of her pocket, and all but thrust it in Allen's face. "I have THIS."

"But....seriously. What's up with Kanda-kun? Do you know?" She looked worried now, her brows furrowed on her forehead. "And what about Lavi...aren't those two always together...?"

Allen looked temporarily aghast at his childhood friend's good fortune, but the expression quickly wiped off his face as he turned back and watched the BaKanda round the corner and disappear from view.

"I...don't know. He's always in a bad mood. And yeah, they are." He shot her a look at that. "Doesn't Lavi usually help your teacher out before his next class? I mean, he has study hall next period, doesn't he?"

Lenalee nodded. "Yeah, I know... I'm...worried about him. He hasn't been sleeping lately - it's obvious - but he just...he won't _admit_ it. He always gets edgy when anyone tries to bring it up, too... And then Kanda-kun, being--well, Kanda-kun... But why did he get so mad at Lavi this morning?"

"I'm worried, Allen..." She looked up into her friend's eyes, tears brimming. "I can't get through to either of them, and I don't know what to do..."

Allen watched as the tears started forming at the edge of her eyes, and he told himself he wouldn't panic. Wouldn't panic because he'd dealt with her tears _before_, hadn't he? Yeah, yeah he had. So this could be easy, and really? Why did she care so much about the BaKanda _anyway_? Though he could agree about Lavi...well...and-

"I don't know, I mean I noticed it with Lavi too--I mean, he doesn't even pick up his cell phone after school--I tried calling him once." He paused at a sniffle from the dark haired girl and cringed. "But yeah he won't tell us--and...you know Kanda doesn't need to have a good reason to get mad at someone--he's Kanda!" He attempted to smile, even though it fell short.

Lenalee nodded slowly, 'forcing' a smile, and wiping her eyes on the backs of her hands. Her makeup smudged a bit, but she didn't care. "I...yeah, you're right...about Kanda-kun, anyways... But Lavi...I...." She paused, and her eyes lit up, as if she'd gotten an idea. "Ne, Allen-kun...what class do you have now? Is there any chance you could skip it...?"

Allen swallowed at the look and opened his mouth. "I...I have History, um...we're just reviewing over a test though so I...guess I can skip?" He could always get his test tomorrow, and it wasn't like the teacher cared if he skipped or not--wait! Wait! Wait! But he'd already agreed, and Lenalee had smiled--smiled like all the world was right and better and _good_ just because he said those few words.

And somehow, he felt like he had fallen into a trap.

Lenalee hugged Allen tightly, burying her face in his neck. "_Thank you_!!!"

She pulled away after a brief moment, absolutely beaming. "_So_. We're going to call Lavi. Over. And over. And over. Until he answers. And then we're gonna _make_ him talk. He may not answer his phone, but I know it's always on. He told me once; he's not _allowed_ to turn it off - something about his Grandpa, and emergencies. So...eventually, he'll get sick of hearing it ring, and he'll answer!! But if he tries to hang up...we can just go to his house, and wait for him!"

Allen blinked once, then twice. "Wait...we'll...what?"

Lenalee's eyes were - by now - alight with mischief. "We'll spam him!! ...Oh, come on, you KNOW he'll answer after 20 minutes at the latest! Especially if we don't give him _any_ breaks. Just bam-bam-bam, call-call-call! That boy has no patience for these things--he'll answer."

Allen coughed lightly. "But...are you sure? I mean...what if he's in class, or something? Or, well, he's in study hall--yeah...but..." He fidgeted again--what was Lenalee thinking?

"Trust me, he's not," Lenalee insisted, seemingly sure of herself. "I saw him leave. Just...don't know who picked him up - some really cute guy - or where they went. But...he's definitely not at school." This was, in fact, the main basis behind Lenalee's plot - to find out where Lavi had gone today, _who_ he had gone with, and _why_ he had skipped out. She had a nagging suspicion it must have something to do with their friend's 'Grandfather', but...she wanted the story straight from Lavi himself.

Allen blinked at her.

"He's...not...here? You mean he left?" Well, that certainly wasn't good, and more than justified what Lenalee was worried about. He sighed then and nodded. "Well, if he's not at school, then...yeah. I mean--if you saw him outside then--he probably didn't get checked out."

Not that it wasn't an uncommon practice, to hide out in the bathrooms and call parents instead of going to the health room to call, but...the fact that it was only first period set alarm bells off in the back of his head. Lavi. Going with some cute guy (he cringed mentally at that)...somewhere...Lenalee definitely had the right idea...though--no! He wouldn't let his mind wander. Just not yet. Or...or maybe he'd at least be the one to take the phone away if--he violently cut that train of thought off and swallowed.

"Yeah, definitely. Call, but, um, not in the hallway. It's...the hallway. And I'm late, and even if you have a pass, you know they'll--"

Feeling just a bit miffed at their redheaded friend - she hated being out of the loop, especially when she and Lavi told each other practically _everything_ - Lenalee decided that just a _little_ bit of retaliation wouldn't hurt--Lavi would get over it soon enough, and plus, there was a 50/50 chance Allen knew already - she turned to face her best friend.

"Ne, Allen..." she started, grabbing the boy's wrist, and dragging him off towards the downstairs senior girl's bathroom. It would be the best place in the school to talk--if they could even get service. If not, there were always other options. "You...you _do_ know Lavi's gay--right?"

Allen stood there, gawking--he couldn't even bring himself to pull out of the girls grip as she continued to drag him down the stairs...the information...just wasn't...well, sure he had _guessed_...with how flamboyant Lavi was--especially towards Kanda, but--but--"You mean...you _knew_?"

He flinched when she shot him a look over her shoulder, and clamped his mouth shut as she rolled her eyes and they reached the foot of the stairs. He didn't start protesting again until they reached the door to the girl's bathroom. Wait..._wait_, _wait_--"You aren't seriously going to drag me--" He didn't get any say so, of course, as she dragged him in, and the door slammed behind him.

"Well, yeah, I knew," she stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Lavi and I talk. A lot. Which is why I wanna know about _today_ so badly...this is one thing he _hasn't_ told me a thing about...I don't even know who that guy with him was!" The girl sounded obviously distraught over this fact. "And really, Allen...it's just a bathroom. One that _nobody_ uses anymore. Where else could we phone him, with the least chance of getting caught? Then again, there's always..."

She pulled out her cell phone, and let out an irritated huff. "Yup. There's no signal. Looks like we'll need to go to the park, after all."

Allen balked, "The...park? But that's behind the school! What if we get caught?" He lowered voice, then, "And...I sorta knew too, I mean...but yeah, I guess...if he is then, I'd wanna know too." Not that he'd think of what that meant but, "You two really talk that much?" That shouldn't be as surprising as it was, but...

"Yes. We do. Which is why I'm so bloody _pissed_, that I don't have the slightest _clue_ what's going on today!" The poor girl was getting so frustrated, she was letting her 'innocent' facade slip, just a bit...but she didn't really care. She felt betrayed.

Grabbing Allen's wrist again, she pulled him out of the bathroom, and back up the stairs to the main floor. Looking left quickly, then right - there were no teachers on duty here, it seemed - she pulled her friend out on of the school's back doors. "Come on. We can just hop the fence on the far end of the field. No one will find us in the woods, right? Or we could just stay, but then we'll have to find somewhere to hide..."

"Er, yeah, hoping the fence is fine." Allen allowed her to drag him out of the building, but when they got halfway across the field, he jerked his hand out of her grip and paused. She turned back to him and gave him a look he hadn't quite been expecting, and maybe the words shouldn't have slipped out quite like they did, but, "Is it just that?"

Because she _wasn't_ acting...normal. And it made him uncomfortable. On more than one level. Sort of like Lavi sometimes. "I mean--" He couldn't help but want to rectify the situation, though.

"........" Lenalee sighed, and shook her head. "Allen...I'm fine. I promise. It's just...well--Lavi and I talk about _everything_. He knows things about me that no one else does, and I know things about him. He's like my second big brother. And then--seeing him just _leave_ like that...without saying a single word to me... I was already worried about him before, but now I'm worried _and_ a bit angry. I know it's stupid, and he probably has his reasons, but...I still can't help but to feel a bit betrayed, you know?"

They had reached the fence by now, and Lenalee stopped talking, turning to the obstruction before them. "Well...here goes. Hup~!" And she gripped the top of the fence, hoisting herself up, seemingly effortlessly--and dropping down on the other side. She looked back at Allen, giving him an expectant look.

Allen swallowed thickly. Well..that...that...was difficult to swallow. He had known they were close (often times when he had called her, Lavi had been the one to pick up, but he had never thought anything of it)...but _now_ that it actually... He let out a sigh and moved towards the fence, muttering lowly.

"Well that makes a ton of sense now," he sighed, before pulling himself over. Not with as much ease as Lenalee, but close enough, before asking, "Do you have service here?" But he wondered why he couldn't quite look at her.

Lenalee nodded, smiling brightly as she showed the screen to Allen. "All five bars~"

She could tell the boy was uncomfortable, and suddenly regretted her behavior earlier. More than that, she - in a way - regretted not being herself from the very start. The Lenalee she showed to her friends (with the sole exception of Lavi), was still the same Lenalee she had been 5 years ago. She'd been afraid to change--afraid that if she did, she would no longer be accepted. But maybe...that hadn't been the right decision.

"So...do you want to call first, or should I?"

Allen thought it over for a moment. He had seen the flash of regret in her eyes (why did the smile on her lips seem so fake now?), and he knew she probably guessed how uncomfortable he was--this was _Lenalee_...she was...supposed to be...supposed to be... He found himself shaking his head before he could stop the motion. "You call. He'll probably pick up if it's you. After all, it _is_ your phone."

"Alrighty then~" She pretended not to notice the shake of Allen's head, and instead focused her attention on the phone - pressing the speed-dial for Lavi's number - and deciding what she would say to him. She waited...waited--and there it was, as she'd expected. The answering machine

/Hey, you've reached me~ Who's me? Well, you should know--you called me! Anyways, leave your name an-/

She hung up, sighing. "He's not answering...yet."

Allen let out a sigh. "Do you even think he'll pick up?" He reached out to the phone and, wait--she had his phone number on speed dial? He pushed that thought away and redialed, waiting for their redheaded friend to pick up, and yet again got the answering machine. He let out a sigh and passed it back to Lenalee. "Should we leave a message?"

Lenalee laughed, and shook her head. "We just need to keep trying. Eventually, he'll get sick of it ringing - especially with _that_ ringtone, if he's with a potential boy-toy..." She giggled, shaking her head again.

"Ohhhhh, boy...yeah, I suspect he'll probably pick up within the next three calls. I'd _bet_ on it, in fact..."

Allen looked mildly horrified. "You're...really not making this any easier, Lenalee." And he felt himself smile despite it all. "I mean, what if we're interrupting them when they're--" He paused for half a second, debating on if he _really_ should say...that...but with the way Lenalee was acting _now_ then...he flushed a bit.

"You know...what if...they're..." He felt stupid, and embarrassed, but...she seemed to get it. Which should have bothered him. Still did, a little bit, but--she simply redialed.

"Hmm...no, I doubt it. Lavi likes to flirt--a _lot_, but...he's not gonna give it up that easily. Trust me. They're probably just...flirting. Or eating. Or knowing Lavi, even sleeping." She laughed, and put a hand on Allen's shoulder. She hoped it would comfort him. "Listen, Allen, I'm-" But she cut herself off, as the other end began to ring.

'Please, please pick up...'

Allen watched as Lenalee's face turned pensive, and knew she was probably hoping that he would pick up. For her sake, he almost wished he _did_. Except, well, he was still confused. With the hand on his shoulder--heavy...heavier than the light touch she usually gave. And maybe he was thinking too far into it, but...he watched her sigh and squeeze his shoulder, but didn't quite register what it meant.

"Oh!" she gasped quietly, then another smile - this one genuine - spread across her face. She turned to Allen, and mouthed, 'He answered~!'.

"Lavi! Where the Hell _are_ you!?"

******Lavi******

'_Everyone else has had more sex than me. Ooh-ooh~ Does any-'_

"Lena-chan?" Lavi asked into the phone as he answered (silencing that ringtone that he _really_ wished Tyki wouldn't have heard), slightly taken aback. It was _her_ that'd been calling him non-stop?

"Ahh! Tyki! Hold off for a minute, would ya!?" he yelped, his voice rising an octave, much to his dismay. Unfortunately, he didn't pull the phone far enough away from his head, for his voice not to carry across to the other end.

--

Lenalee giggled, and mouthed the words back to Allen - wanting to know how the other would react.

"Yeah, it's me. Now _where_ are you? I saw you leave the school with that guy...why didn't you say anything to me?"

******Tyki******

Tyki scowled slightly when he saw Lavi pulling out the phone from his back pocket, and answering it. He really didn't want the boy's attention drawn away from him now. After all--there was no telling when he'd get a call from his brother (true, the man would be busy with meetings, but he could always call him for miscellaneous reasons), and so...well, Lavi didn't look like he'd say _no_ if he tried to touch him again, did he? So Tyki grinned, and ran his fingers down the boy's side once more, running down, and around to his ass, before squeezing it, causing the boy to yelp and admonish him. He couldn't keep the small frown (_not_ pout) from forming on his face, but it was all an act--dreadfully amusing, oh yes.

Considering the boy didn't pull the phone away from his ear as he said that. He was _sure_ the person on the other line (a girl, he was certain), had heard.

--

Allen watched as Lenalee giggled lightly over the phone, confused. When she scolded him, still slightly airy and happy--like she had _expected_...whatever was happening on the other end of the line.

Thankfully she noticed his confused look, and pulled the phone away from her ear, clicking a button he assumed was the 'speaker phone' option. Suddenly Lavi's voice came out of the receiver, loud and-

A little breathless??

--

"I...well, I'm--Tyki, _stop_ that right now!!" He paused, glaring darkly at the older man - who merely laughed, and groped him again--while his cheeks flushed a bright red.

"Ahem..! Sorry, Lenalee...I'm...with a friend. Well...he's Gramps' friend, too...I'm...helping him out with some stuff today, in exchange for Gramps letting me leave school--TYKI!!!--early. I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you, but...it really was a last minute thing. I called Panda-jiji to pick me up, and he sent Tyki, so--_stop_! Oh, no, not you Lenalee. You didn't do anything wrong."

Tyki couldn't keep the mirthful tone out of his laugh, with the slightly offended look on the redhead's blushing cheeks, and the way he simply did _not_ answer the phone for a while.

Oh dear, had he made things difficult? He wasn't quite sure, nor did he quite care as he squeezed the boy's ass again (all too aware of what was awakening, if the tent in the boy's tight pants were any indication), and relished in the shiver it received.

--

Lenalee, by this point, had to try very, very hard to reign in her laughter. She didn't want to appear suspicious, after all... She cast a glance at Allen - and this time, she _did_ laugh out loud--the boy's expression was _hilarious_.

...It...they were...this was--was--and Lenalee was laughing at him, and he was _sure_ his face was beet red, and he couldn't quite blame her for--_but_--he tried to calm the blush, but it wasn't working. And then Lavi's tone took on a raspy quality, as he answered Lenalee's request--er, threat. It was definitely a threat. Did Lavi even know he was on _speaker_ _phone_?

/...what are you laughing at...?/ the voice on the other end asked suspiciously.

"Oh--No, Lavi, it's nothing. Just...you sound kinda 'busy' right now..."

/Well...I am, kinda.../ She could almost _hear_ him blushing. /Is something wrong?/

"Well--yes, that's why I called. Uhm-"

/Is Yuu-chan alright?/ Lavi interrupted, automatically assuming this had something to do with his best friend. /Is he hurt?/

"No, Kanda-kun is fine. Angry, as usual... I called because--well, everyone's worried about you, Lavi. We _know_ you're not sleeping - whether you admit it or not, so don't you _dare_ try to lie your way out of this one." She paused again, noting that Lavi's breathless gasps weren't ceasing, nor were the soft chuckles of another male voice. "Just…promise me you'll be safe, okay? And _don't_ do anything stupid--you know exactly what I mean. And _call_ me, damnit - as soon as you get home. I'll never forgive you if you don't."

There came another loud 'squeak' over the other end, and, /Yeah, I gotta go now. I'll call you!/

/Click./

Lenalee snapped the phone shut, her grin slowly fading as the hilarity of the situation did. Lavi and this...Tyki-guy...were definitely fooling around. She knew Lavi wouldn't go all-the-way with him--he was still a virgin, though Lenalee was probably the only other person who knew at this point, and Lavi wasn't the type to give 'it' up to some meaningless fling--not if he had a choice. But Lenalee had trust-issues when it concerned older men (with the exception of her brother). She could only hope that her friend would be okay...

She turned back to Allen. "Well...I guess I can relax a bit, now... But--I'm still worried about that idiot. I swear, if he doesn't call me tonight..." She trailed off, honestly not knowing _what_ she would do.

Allen tried to smile, really he did. He couldn't help but be worried, though, when Lenalee's smile fell to a frown, and she looked at her phone worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll call." He took a step forward. "I mean--he promised he would." Not that he could give his word on that. After what he...maybe...heard...and with everything...and-

"Do you want to...head back to class, or..?" He checked his watch, and grimaced. They had been out longer than he thought. Okay, not that long, but still--walking in during the middle of class wasn't a good idea. And he didn't like the prospect of being so close to the campus--he had known a few people to get caught and sent to the principal's office for hiding out here instead of going to class.

So, he swallowed again. "Or do you, y'know, wanna go somewhere else? I mean--class isn't even over yet, and..."

Lenalee smiled warmly at Allen, grateful for his attempt at distraction.

"Hmm...coffee?" she suggested? They used to go out for coffee together all the time, but what with the heavy burden of classes and extracurriculars lately, they hadn't had time.

Allen smiled just a bit wider and nodded his head, looking around the small park-like area before saying, "We'll probably have to take the long way, just in case."

He prided himself in leading the way--down the dirt path that he knew the Environmental teachers always led their students down--it was by a creek, and he knew the creek led to a wider stream, and then to a neighborhood he had passed through many times. He looked back at her only once, smiling again and feeling slightly elated when she smiled back. It was good to see her smiling, even though he knew she was worried. Maybe--maybe...he could cut the rest of class. Or, no...but--he did know--he did know--

"You know where we are right?"

He didn't see her nod, nor did he quite care as he pushed aside another branch. "We'll go this way for a bit, and then we'll get out at a neighborhood, and then we'll follow the sidewalks." He looked back at her this time, and she was looking at him, slightly impressed, with an up-tilt of lips that didn't seem anything like the smiles she usually gave him, but then, he assumed those _hadn't_ been the 'usual' smiles.

And he had to wonder how long she had been acting. It was a painful thought.

"You're a natural-born leader, Allen-kun~!" she laughed, impressed. Allen had always given off that air of strength, and it was one of the reasons she had liked him. At least, she thought it was - that she had. "And I'd prefer the long way, anyways - we haven't gotten a chance to spend time together in a while, after all. So don't worry about it, ne?"

The Chinese girl was happy to see a bit of the tension leave Allen's eyes, and it allowed her own smile to grow _just a bit brighter_. For a while, there, she'd thought she was about to lose her best friend...and if that happened, Lenalee didn't think she'd be able to live with herself.

Allen couldn't help but feel some of the tension leave at Lenalee's positive words, and quickly agreed. "No, we haven't. I mean..." He held out a hand to her when they climbed over a few slippery rocks, noticing how much stronger it was, but brushing it off. He'd definitely have to learn this 'new' Lenalee. Or--not new. Or...not really.

"I'm sure we've got a lot to catch up on, considering how busy school's been for the both of us." And unlike before, when he would continue to hold her hand for the sake of it, he let it drop behind him, and instead cast her a smile. Yes, they would talk. He hoped she would be _willing_ to talk...not that he thought she wouldn't, especially now, but... He shook the negative thoughts away and kept the smile, as he saw the first of the houses some ways ahead through the trees.

"See? We're getting closer." He pointed, and sped up just a bit. It was good knowing that she'd follow him. Good knowing, even though it was a bit different, that her steps would fall into sync with his own. That was different too, but he was sure he'd get used to it.

In fact, he was certain he would.

Lenalee smiled, nodding her assent. "We really do. And...not just because of school. There are so many things I need to tell you, that I should have told you ages ago. And I will. Allen, I...I tried to say back there, but--the phone...." She took a deep breath. "Allen, I'm sorry. You're my best friend, and I...I kept secrets, and you don't deserve that."

They entered the cafe together; ceasing to speak while they ordered their drinks. Only when they sat down in a small booth in the back, did the conversation resume.

His chest was squeezing a little too much at those words--at the serious tone of his long time best friend, and how apologetic she looked, and he wanted nothing more than to say 'it's alright'... But then, he had always been told he was a pushover...and--he wanted answers. Of course he did. They were friends, weren't they? So, when they chose a booth in the far back of the small cafe after ordering their drinks, he knew it had to be more than a little confession. And maybe--maybe he could bring to light some things on his own plate. Maybe. As he watched Lenalee fidget nervously in her seat, waiting for the waitress to bring them their coffee. Which didn't happen, and didn't happen--and then it did, and he had already torn through two napkins in nervous habit.

When the waitress left, casting them both interested looks (like it was really any of her business what they were doing there--she probably knew they were skipping class.), he finally allowed his mouth to open.

"Um--" And of course, they had decided to speak at the same time. It was almost hilarious, if it hadn't been so serious.

So instead, he grabbed the spoon and stirred his coffee. "You first," he said, too easily.

Hoping she'd take the invitation. Thankfully, she did.

"Well...I guess I should start with the basis of it all...right?" She didn't wait for an answer, before continuing. "Uhm...I guess...I've been trying to make myself into someone I'm not. Not anymore, at least. The 'me' I present to all of you, is barely any different from the 'me' I really was, five years ago. But...inside, I'm confused. And sometimes, I don't if _I_ even know who I really am. When we all started growing up, and changing...I felt like I was changing more than the rest of you. And that scared me, because I thought - if I changed too much, I'd be rejected. And so...I tried not to let myself change at _all_. But I did, and so I made myself a mask. I only told Lavi, because, well...he wears a mask, too."

Allen tightened his grip on the spoon, glancing up only to see Lenalee staring down, intently, at the coffee in front of her. Something told him she wouldn't drink it until it had gone cold, and he knew, in his own way that he wouldn't either. He swallowed.

"A...mask?"

Like--like he could really say anything else. Like he could really find any comforting words. He swallowed again. "So...these past five years..." And he paused, then shook his head, looking back down at his coffee, and dropping the spoon, letting it clink against the glass. As if that was cue enough, the girl began talking again--just a bit faster than before.

"I...I didn't know what to _do_, Allen! Yes--you were all changing, but you were still _you_! I didn't know _who_ I was anymore. In my mind, the only way I could keep fitting in with all of you, was to stay the same! Or--or at least pretend to. I'm...not as 'innocent' as everyone thinks I am, Allen. I _know_ what people talk about. I know what it means, some even from personal experience! I pretend to still be clueless and naive, because seeing all of you get flustered, and try to be careful around me, reminds me of how things used to be, when I was 'real'. I know it's not fair - to any of you, or myself--and I wish I didn't, but I did!"

"And Lavi...I shouldn't talk about Lavi, not when he's not here, but he's had it even worse than me. I've had my 'mask' for barely five years--he's had to wear his, his entire _life_! And if he slips, and gets caught, then he gets hurt! I've had nothing to complain about, compared to him, but I still--And that's not even the _worst_ of it! I've let my brother down, and he doesn't even have a clue... He's always saying how he'll never let anyone marry me, but deep down, I _know_ he wants to be an uncle someday, and I can't even give him that..."

She had slowed down gradually, nearing the end of her speech, so that by the time she'd finished, she'd barely even noticed she'd stopped talking. The girl's eyes were brimming with tears--of shame, hatred, and disgust - all directed at no one but herself. She sniffled, then let her head thunk down on the table, not even moving her arms to cushion the contact.

Something...wasn't clicking...and he hated it. Hated that he was trying to get it, but that something in him was refusing, blatantly. Like there was a brick wall built in his mind between the words and the comprehension they needed--his brain needed--to understand. And now Lenalee was crying, and he couldn't even get the words out to--to--well. He swallowed. Swallowed and shifted, and looked down at his coffee and sighed.

"Lenalee..." Her name was like a trigger, and the tears nearly spilt over, but she rubbed at them ferociously with her sleeve, like it was bad--no good--and--he wished the table wasn't there anymore, for some reason. Because that too, was a barrier between them that he didn't want. That she didn't need.

And then it clicked. Or something did. Something small, and miniscule--a crack in the brick wall.

And he shook his head, and reached across, between them, grabbing one hand and completely ignoring the coffee--what coffee? Why'd they buy it in the first place? He didn't know, he didn't know, but all he could say was--well--"Okay." Even if he wasn't sure it sunk in all the way. Even if he wasn't sure squeezing her hand in his own would do the girl any good. But he did it anyway.

Because someone needed to, and he knew he wasn't Lavi (whoever 'Lavi' was anymore, he'd--no, he wasn't quite ready to ask that yet), but it had to be enough. Just so she knew.

So he repeated, with a smile, hoping she'd see even through tear-swollen eyes, "Okay."

Lenalee's tears died down, slowly, and she finally Squeezed Allen's hand back, looking up at him through her bangs. Her makeup was smeared and running across her face, but neither of them thought anything of it.

"It's...okay..?" she asked, hesitantly, almost afraid to believe it. But wait--this was Allen. He would never lie to her - not like she had.

So Allen smiled, when she squeezed back and looked up at him, make up ruined but did that really matter now? No, it didn't. And he smiled--kept smiling, and nodded his head, even though the information hadn't really registered yet (and maybe it would take a while to, he didn't know), and said, "Yeah. You're Lenalee, after all, even if you change."

Then, in a fit of childishness that he probably hadn't had for five years, his smile turned up just a bit more, got just a bit wider, and he said, lightly, in a way he himself had held back for five years, because of those five years, "Lenalee's silly. What makes you think I wouldn't say that?"

Lenalee's eyes widened at that, before she - unexpectedly, even to herself - burst into a fit of giggles.

"I...I really am silly, aren't I?" she admitted, her laughter finally dying down a few minutes later. "I'm sorry, Allen. I feel so much better now that I've told you. But...Komui-niichan...I don't...know what I'll say to him..."

She sighed again. "Do you...even know what I meant, then? About...letting my brother down...?"

Allen blinked, and thought that over for a moment. Well, no, if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't quite understand it. The wall was still particularly thick at that portion so he squeezed her hand again. "Not...not really."

A quick glance around made him note that their waitress was keeping a keen eye on them, even though she was waiting on other, tired, customers. "But...I don't think here's the best place for that kind of conversation...I mean..." And he trailed off, letting go of her hand and shrugging. Hopefully she'd understand what he meant.

"Ah." Lenalee nodded, having caught sight of the nosy waitress. "Phht. She's been staring at us almost this entire time we've been here... Stupid woman has no manners," she muttered, too quietly for anyone but Allen to hear her. But, she squeezed his hand back again, and gave him a small smile, showing him her sincere appreciation.

"I don't know what I'd do without you..."

Allen let out a laugh at that, or rather a chuckle, and shook his head. "I dunno, you tell me." He looked at the two cups of coffee still on the table and sighed.

"Do you want to finish your coffee, or...?"

"Oh dear..." Lenalee looked down at her coffee, and another laugh bubbled out past her lips. "Ah, what the heck. It was almost 5 bucks, and it still tastes fine!"

She picked up the cup, and brought it to her lips, taking a sip. "And what do you know...it's still kinda warm."

Allen let out another, slightly louder laugh, and took a sip of his own. "Yeah you're right." He hummed appreciatively, sitting back against the cushioned seat, and taking another large gulp. Too bad the cups were small, he was nearly finished, and from the look on Lenalee's face, she almost was too.

Thus began, something he'd probably call immature later--but it was a nicer form of a drinking contest, between friends. Completely innocent, and it made them both laugh and sputter a bit, and cough. But that was the point--all in good fun. The smile was worth it too, as well as the rather affronted look on the waitress's face that she wouldn't get another story to dish out later.

**xoxox**

_**Author's Note: **__Now that the first chapters done...all I can say is 'wow'. Um yeah... Have Questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? Send it via review! And one of us is sure to answer you!_


	2. Brickwall

_**Author's Note: **__Heeee~ Chapter two is HERE!!! And on Christmas day, no less! Are you guys happy? I hope you're happy--we're happy~ Mmm....so. We decided a while ago, that we would update "Bad Romance" every second Friday. Which--we realized, happens to make the second chapter here, into a sort of Christmas present for you all. Neat, huh? -totally wasn't intentional-  
But yes--this means you can expect chapter three at some point on January 8__th__. -nod-  
Also, this chapter is...quite...a bit longer, than the first. Not sure yet if this will be a regular occurrence (they could be longer OR shorter...), but we'll see, ne?  
__**  
Disclaimer: **__Unfortunately, we don't own D. Gray-man. Though it'd be wonderful we did~  
Nor do we own Lady GaGa, or the song "Bad Romance" (or "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" by TISM--which appears as Lavi's ringtone. xD ).  
__**  
Warnings for This Chapter:**__ Foul language, drunken!pervert!Cross on the phone, mentions of prostitution and non-con/dub-con, Lenalee SLAPPING someone (-le gasp?-), hard-ons, handjobs and a blowjob, awkward touching, and ICE CUBES. I'm...pretty sure that's all? o.0_

_Enjoy~_

**Chapter Two  
"****Brickwall"**

"Ne, Allen..." Lenalee began, as they gathered their stuff, and left the cafe - not without shooting a glare at the waitress. "I don't really feel like going back to school. Do you? Wanna go someplace, and, I dunno...just hang out a bit more? After all...there's still more to talk about, and....somewhere private would probably be best... But...I don't know where. I don't exactly go around town much, so...do you have any ideas?"

Allen thought over the proposition. He wasn't going to lie, and say, 'Yeah, we have half a class period left!' But...he didn't really want to go back now, not when so much stuff was just starting to air out. For all he knew, no one would notice till lunch time--then maybe the BaKanda would come searching for them. If he was in a good mood.

"Well, I know a few places..." he hummed, as they stepped out into the slightly nippy air, but he knew it'd warm up by lunch time, so it didn't really matter. So he turned back to Lenalee and smiled.

"We can always go to the outlet mall--there's a small walkway behind there and it's generally pretty quiet. Or we can go to this really old memorial site. Though that might be kinda bad--I _know_ no one has the chance of going by there."

He also knew of quite a few other places, but they were a little too on the dangerous side for somewhere he'd want to take a lady...

And it wasn't like he _wanted_ to know about those places in the first place. Stupid people who drank too much--stupid--he snapped out of his thoughts when Lenalee placed a curious hand on his shoulder, and gave him her answer.

"How about the memorial site? Yeah, it's kinda sad, but...well, they're good places to talk. And no one would bother us, even if there were other people there. Everyone would...have their own agenda..." She trailed off, and shook the thought away. Her mind was - once again - being drawn to her parents. Parents whose faces she could barely remember anymore, whose voices had long-since been forgotten. "It would be...peaceful. Right?"

Allen's lips twitched slightly as he saw Lenalee's eyes glaze over, at a memory he could only guess at--"Yeah...they are. It's why I usually go. I mean, yes people go there to remember the dead," -or deface the property- "but it's the most relaxing place I know of."

'When home is so hectic'--when had he started that habit again? Well, he wasn't quite sure, but it didn't quite matter, as he led the way down the small sidewalk, and towards the main road, and the crosswalk.

******A Few Minutes Later, After Walking, Dodging Cars, and Other Things**** **

"Mmm," Lenalee hummed quietly, nodding her head once. They entered the graveyard through large, wrought iron gates, and quietly made their way to a small bench in the centre, overshadowed by trees and shrubbery.

Allen watched Lenalee's eyes glance over the cracked and worn monument--it was a simple structure, really, with names scrawled on it from a time long ago. Mana had once told him from what war it was, and even who was who, and if their relatives still lived in the area. But that didn't matter now. They weren't here for a history lesson, so when Lenalee made her way to the small bench --on of the many littered around the area--under one of the larger trees, he all but followed her.

The Chinese girl sat, and looked up expectantly at her friend, waiting for him to join her. "So..." she said softly, when he did.

When she looked at him expectantly, he sat down next to her and attempted a tired smile, leaning back and looking up through the tree branches.

"You were...saying?" Because for some reason he felt like she was telling him 'Don't look at me, it makes it easier,' but then...what would he know? Not much, obviously. It's why they were here, wasn't it?

Lenalee sighed heavily, and took a deep breath.

"Well...you know how...I said I felt like I was letting Komui-niichan down...right?" She looked up quickly at her friend, saw his hesitant nod, and then continued. "He - though he won't admit it - wants to be an uncle someday. I...don't think I can ever give him that... Can you make a guess why, Allen-kun? It...would be much easier, I think, to just answer yes or no...rather than...say it myself..."

Allen blinked at Lenalee, who fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. Was she nervous? No, of course she was, but--the body language was all wrong. It--well--yes he knew how children were born, he had been given a (very painful) lesson on it once puberty hit, but something in the way she held herself...

"You aren't sick are you?" It was a safe question, and immediately she shook her head. Well, _that_ was a relief. But then, he was sure Komui would have been the first to know if she couldn't have children...and sometimes no one knew that until they _tried_...and...sometimes with disastrous consequences.

He shook away the stab that memory brought on, and thought again. "Well...you won't...have kids...um--like you won't but…" He trailed off, eyeing her again--were her cheeks turning red? "You can always adopt..." Like that had anything to do with it. And judging from the contemplative--but annoyed--expression on Lenalee's face, she either hadn't thought of it, or it was...wasn't exactly on the mark but he was getting warmer.

Or at least...that's how it would have been, before she 'changed'.

"Well...yes, I could adopt, but...the Lee bloodline will die with us. Komui can't...or more like, he _won't_ have kids... He's long-since given himself over to life of being asexual, and won't even _try_ to get a girlfriend. If someone else asks him out, he just flat-out says no, no matter how much he likes her."

"And _me_...well, that's why I'm afraid to tell Komui. I know he'd be okay with it, but...just the fact that our bloodline will die out... Allen, I couldn't even _try_ to have my own kids. I'd...I'd never be able to do it. And it's not because I'm afraid of the pain, because we both know I'd be able to handle it. Please, Allen...take one more guess...?"

To say he was a bit startled by the desperate tone in her voice be a lie. A blatant one. "Komui's asexual?"

She scowled at him, and he cringed. "I mean. Right. Seems like it, but you..." Well, that was a completely different story. Didn't want to have kids--couldn't...which meant, well, he needed the sperm in order to fertilize the egg and (he could swear his face was burning up at that), and--if she didn't have that...wouldn't have that, wouldn't _want_ that then...

Then.

'_Oh_.'

The brick wall that had been so unnecessarily thick at that particular area, suddenly, and very thoroughly cracked into tiny itty bitty pieces. "Oh--you're like Anita?" He caught himself then, at her confused look. "Um, I mean, you--you like girls?"

The blush on Lenalee's cheeks flared up, and she nodded. "...Yes."

She was grateful, really, that Allen had made the guess himself. She knew he would - it had just been a matter of how long it would take. And...was that...acceptance, in his voice? She was almost afraid to hope - half convinced it had been merely a play on her imagination. Wishful thinking, if you would.

So...Lenalee liked women? He stared at her, cocking his head slightly to the side, and leaning in closer when she barely squeaked out a 'yes'--cheeks flushing brightly.

And he had to wonder if it was that big of a deal. True, she had never dated before, but he had always thought it was Komui's fault, not her own. And--

"What's so bad about that?"

Er, well, maybe he shouldn't have sounded so naive, but he attempted a smile in any case--to ease the tension. "I--mean. D'uh..." Well, actually, that probably didn't help one bit. After all--Anita was, well, she liked both (he grudgingly remembered). It was in her line of work, not to just _choose_ one or the other.

But...he swallowed again. "I mean, you're still Lenalee...and..." He was failing, he knew he was failing, and probably blushing again. He hated being so..._pale_…

Lenalee looked up at him, her expression much softer, almost...timid, and her eyes lit with hope. "It's really...you mean, you really don't mind?"

At Allen's confirmation, she smiled brightly, and hugged the boy. This was...she really, really wished, now that she had opened up sooner. It would have made everything so much easier, so much fairer.

Then, something else registered to the girl, and curiosity over-took her. "Who's Anita?"

Allen immediately tensed, even though he could see a small frown etch its way across the girls' mouth.

'Greaat.' How could he say he knew a prostitute, without it sounding inexplicitly _wrong_?

Well--"She's a business associate. And a friend of a friend of Mana's. She used to visit a lot, um..." He shifted a bit in the hug, but Lenalee still didn't let go, and suddenly--with the flash in her eyes that reminded him way too much of her brother--he knew he wasn't going to get away with just that. Damnit.

"Ahh...but...how did you meet her? And how is it she's able to be so open about her sexuality, then? I'll admit - I'm a bit jealous... You and Lavi are the only ones who know, and Hell - I only told Lavi because I called _him_ on being gay - I could tell. Then he was all embarrassed, so..." She trailed off, realizing she'd started to ramble - and repeated her question. "How'd you guys meet her? Is she ho-I mean...is she pretty?"

"Err..." Allen swallowed, thickly. "Um...well...I-I met her a while ago. I was like, I dunno, maybe eleven? Mana's friend," he refused to call that man by name, unless he necessarily _had_ to, "introduced her. And, um, she kinda has to be for her jo--I mean yeah, of course she is." But of course she'd catch the slip. Maybe it was intentional now, maybe it was, "--were you going to say 'hot'?"

Lenalee blushed, but nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I guess I was. I'm so used to being open with Lavi about all this stuff, so I don't bother to try and catch my slips, but...I'm just not used to having you know, yet...I guess..."

"And _you_ were going to say 'job'," she accused, grinning. "What is she, a model? Or...judging by how you're trying to hide it, I'd say it's something..." Her eyes widened with realization. "A prostitute?"

Allen shifted again, awkwardly. "Well, if I said _that_, then--I was just eleven when I met her, y'know? And it sounds bad." He paused and sighed, grumbling. "Not that that guy cared. At all."

He could feel Lenalee's eyes on him and tried to smile, except it turned out bitter--more-so than she was probably used to. "Well, yeah, I guess...you could call her that. But she does other stuff too, y'know, so I don't really...like saying that's..._it_."

"Ahh," Lenalee nodded in understanding. "So...'that guy' is...who, now?"

She was mighty curious now, and was - by Hell - _not_ going to let it go easily. She could tell from how Allen had said it, 'that guy' was not someone the boy particularly liked--for whatever reason. And she was going to find out why.

And of course she noticed. Of course. He grimaced and sighed, "I...sorry Lenalee, but...I don't think he's the kind of guy you'll ever want to meet, so I wouldn't worry about it." He glanced off to the side, but could still feel her burning curious--and now _worried_--gaze boring into the side of his face.

Suddenly, he felt her hand reach up and touch his face, turning his head and holding it in a surprisingly firm grip.

"Allen." She'd said his name firmly - leaving _no_ room for argument. "I've just spilled all - well, almost all -of my secrets to you. When I didn't really want to, even--though now I'm glad I did, but...now you're going to tell me. Everything. Okay? It's only fair. Plus, I'm your best friend and I _worry_ about you..."

Was it bad that he wanted to laugh at that? Or at least chuckle, but he knew he'd feel too guilty so he squashed the emotion--back, somewhere in his throat and swallowed it.

"I know," he said, because he did. She was worried, and it was genuine, and maybe that made him a bit happy. "I--"

Well...it wasn't like he _couldn't_, just...he exhaled. "What's to say? He's a bastard who loves screwing around with people. Do I need to give a guy like that a name?"

He couldn't say he was surprised to see the shock on her face, but it _did_ make him wonder what kind of face he was making.

"Allen...but, there's a _reason_ why you don't like him...a personal one. What...Allen, what did he _do_ to you? It must have been something bad, if... You're usually so forgiving, and easy-going, yet..." She trailed off, knowing the other would understand. And in the slim chance he didn't - she would make him

Okay--now that--_that_--no. He wasn't going to laugh. He wasn't.

"I've known him since I was like, seven. And for the past five years he practically moved _in_ with us, Lena. Lots of crap can happen in five years."

Now. Now she looked scared. And he felt a cold hand settle in his chest, and wanted nothing more than to just apologize, and smile--because he didn't want her to know. It didn't feel right. Not that she wasn't a great friend, and because she shouldn't know--she _should_--it was just...

"Allen..." her voice this time was soft. Desperate--pleading even. "Please. I'll never tell a soul, if that's what you're worried about--you _know_ I won't. And...whatever it is, I can take it. Just...please. Please tell me, Allen... I'm even more worried now..."

She tightened her grip in Allen's shirt, and leant her forehead against his chest.

"That's why I don't mix home life with school life."

She tightened her grip on his shirt and pressed closer, but at the same time he could feel her freeze up and--and--then she pulled away, face set. But against the cold, and against what he was sure would be pleading words--convincing him.

"It's not because you don't need to know," he cut her off, smiling in a way he hoped was genuine. "I just...don't. Okay?"

She opened her mouth again, and he sighed. "If I told you Mana has been dying for five years, would you believe me?"

Lenalee opened her mouth to speak - only to realize...no sound was coming out. She didn't know what to say. And then suddenly - she was crying.

Soundless tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she closed her eyes, trying to blink them back. "Oh Allen... I knew he was sick, but... Oh, why didn't you _say_ anything? You never should have had to deal with this by yourself..." She grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled him into a tight hug.

And he let her. What else could he do? He could hear her tears and sniffles, right next to his ear, and he had to admit...well, it was cold comfort. He had already cried his tears. Five years ago--when they found out.

"Thank you," he murmured, pulling her close, before pushing her gently away. "I--mean it. And again, I didn't tell you because you didn't need to know. It's just," he paused, looking for the right wording, "separate. That's--that's all."

And he vainly hoped that was enough, even when Lenalee opened her mouth to protest-

And even when, loud, clear, and annoying--his cell-phone started going off.

"Great." 'That's probably him.'

Lenalee looked at him oddly. She still hadn't gotten an answer...but that would change soon. She was - by _no_ means - going to give up. But for now...

"Are you...going to answer that..?"

His lips twitched up in a wiry grin. "Going to have to."

And then he shifted on the bench, and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. "They were supposed to run some tests again today. Ma--Cr--that guy...was really against it, though, and I actually can't blame him for it. But Mana gave the okay so." He flipped open the phone--noticing Lenalee's eyes widen a bit as he did.

'Oh right, she doesn't know I got a new phone...' Or how, anyway. Or why the old one had broken. It had just been this past weekend, after all.

/Oi, brat./ Allen cringed and jerked the phone away from his ear at the loud bellowing sound of the older man. /Where are you?/

"Not at school, or else I wouldn't be picking up?" he shot back, earning another strange look from Lenalee. But then, if she was going to know then he'd rather her figure out by accident--by any other means than him having to force the words out of his throat. Maybe it'd make it a little more real. Maybe it'd make her understand a bit more.

Or maybe not. What did he know?

Lenalee's eyes had widened quite a bit. Not only had Allen gotten a new phone - and not told her - but...she had never heard him speak to someone with this much....utter disdain, before. Not even Kanda-kun. She stayed quiet, but put a supportive - hopefully comforting - hand on her best friend's shoulder.

She would wait, and see how this played out...

/Smart mouth y'got there, brat,/ the man bellowed again, and again Allen cringed.

"Who do you think I learned _that_ from?"

/How should I know? Where are you?/

He hesitated a moment, casting a glance at Lenalee, who looked at him worriedly,

/Well?/

"At the memorial."

/That?/ And for some reason the man's tone turned somber. /You going to skip class?/

He thought that over, casting another look in Lenalee's direction. "It's only second period."

Then the man laughed. /Of course. Well. Whatever. Mana insisted I call you, though./ There was the distant sound of clinking glasses, and suddenly there was a very loud gulping noise.

"They let you drink at the hospital."

/Clinic, m'boy, there's a difference!/

"Clinic...then..." Allen spat. "Don't tell me you-"

/Ah yes, Anita dear's here too. If you're going to skip the rest of the day, might as well make a damn excuse for it, y'know?/

That was almost laughable, and maybe he scared Lenalee--just a little bit. "Excuse? Maybe, spend the rest of the day with you? Didn't I already do that?"

Lenalee couldn't keep silent anymore. "Allen-kun...what's going on? Is he...giving you trouble?"

Her voice sounded too loud - even to her own ears - in the silence around them. Not even the wind could be heard blowing, nor the birds chirping. It was all too eerie...and all too coincidental, in her opinion.

Unfortunately that guy heard her. Allen cringed. 'Great'.

/Eh? Who's that?/ the drunken man asked, a little too loudly, over the phone--again making Allen hold the offending piece of technology away from his ear. /You're skipping school--with a chick? Heh, and here I thought you said you were celibate!/

Allen huffed, and Lenalee looked a little...well, confused. She could probably only hear bits and pieces. "You really think I'd go back on my word after what _you_ did?"

And the man laughed, and Lenalee looked worried, but he didn't quite care as much as he probably should.

/Well it was a learning experience, boy! You needed it sometime!/

"From anyone but you, yeah." Or, well. He'd like to think, but his heart had suddenly constricted because--they really shouldn't be talking about this. Really.

"Allen..." Lenalee repeated again, her voice growing even more concerned. "What's...oh..."

Suddenly--it made sense. The few words she could make out from the other end of the phone - and said in such a raunchy voice - as well as Allen's responses. His unwillingness to tell her what had happened. The scowl on his face as he talked to this mysterious man - as well as the small blush that Allen himself probably wasn't even aware of.

Lenalee was a smart girl - smarter than she'd ever let on. And suddenly, it all made sense.

"Allen." Her voice was stronger now. "Give me the phone."

Before Allen could completely register it, Lenalee was prying the phone out of his hand - fiddling with it for a moment--it was new, of course she didn't get how it worked--before, well--he panicked.

He panicked--"What are you--?" And he wasn't sure what his voice sounded like, but it made her conviction that much firmer, her expression that much more serious--and then she opened her mouth, and spoke into the receiver.

"What did you do to Allen," she demanded, and it wasn't even a _question_. She spoke like someone who _knew_ something--which she did--but she wanted it out of the proverbial horse's mouth. "You have five seconds to start talking, you bastard, or I'm calling the fucking police."

She noticed the shocked expression on Allen's face - how could she _not_ have, with the surprised gasp that left his mouth at her words. She knew, this was unlike her - the swearing, the anger - even the 'new' her. But she was too angry to care. Too--too angry.

But Allen wouldn't let her go that far. He--he didn't--"Lena--" and he could hear laughter on the other end of the phone, and closer, now, as he snatched the phone back and--accidentally hitting the speakerphone button.

/I'll let ya deal with your chick there, an' leave you to it. Oh, an' I'll be picking you up after school--assumin' you'll be there. If not you know who ta call—ciao./ And just like that, the other line went dead, and he felt Lenalee's cold, harsh gaze on him, like needle points, like a dam ready to burst--even though that was a _really_ bad metaphor.

And all he could do was stand there, and not even look her in the eye

Waiting, fidgeting, for her response--her question--her _something_.

Why was she shaking?

Lenalee was shaking...and she was shaking hard. Her face set, and--and she _really_ couldn't believe she was about to do this, but she still needed to--and before she could stop herself, she-

_Smack_!

She let her hand drop down back to her side, staring - eyes wide - at the fresh, red hand-print on her best friend's left cheek. Had she--she just-

She had hit him. And her shaking got stronger, with that realization.

But she knew, it needed to be done. She dropped her gaze to the ground, and spoke softly, "Allen."

"You. _Need_. To. Tell me. Right now. Every single thing. I am _not_ letting you go back with him - not alone - until you tell me _what the Hell is going on_!!" The girl looked back up, dark eyes livid, and continued. "And then--still--I might not let you. Not alone. Not without...me."

Allen was dumbfounded. Completely and utterly dumbfounded, as he touched the red hand-print on his cheek. But--for all the times the words wouldn't come--couldn't come--refused to come--he knew he deserved that. And yes it stung. A lot. And as it made his eyes prickle with tears, he couldn't help but let a hollow laugh slip out.

That made her livid eyes widen, just a bit. "You...really want to know."

That wasn't a question either--if it was, then he'd probably get himself slapped again. "Okay. But I can't."

"You can't _what_." Lenalee snapped, and again - what was _with_ them today? - it was spoken as a mere statement. Growling, she pushed Allen back down onto the bench, and leaned down over him, a fist clenched in the front of his pressed, white shirt. "Allen."

"What?"

She frowned at that, but he couldn't help it. "He...he's just a bastard, okay? I've known him since I was seven, and--" he felt like he was repeating himself, "there's nothing to tell Lenalee."

'Nothing that you need to hear. Not that you don't, just-' "You don't."

But she hadn't heard the unspoken part, and she hadn't--and that made all the fucking difference sometimes, didn't it?

"Damn it... That's _bullshit_, Allen, and you _know it_!!! I don't want bullshit, I want _answers_!!!" Her breath hitched, and she climbed into Allen's lap - legs on either side of his - but there was nothing sexual about it, she was just tired of standing. She was just...tired. Of everything. In general.

"When--when did we start lying to each other, Allen? When did we start keeping these horrible secrets? Five years...for both of us, right? I almost want to laugh...but I can't, I won't, because it's really not that funny. Allen, we--I don't-"

She sighed, shaking her head. "I _know_, Allen. I put it together, mostly. I'm smarter than I look, and sure as Hell a lot smarter than I let on. And I could _hear_ him. Just... please, tell me! How...how did it happen? How did it start? _When_ did it start? And why..?"

Allen really didn't like the sudden lack of personal space but--well--"Why don't you tell me what _you_ think he did? And I'll answer yes or no."

And he tried to smile then, and it threw her off balance, but he knew--"I'm not keeping secrets because I don't want you to know them. I thought I already said that. S-so..." And damn, he hated the stutter. "I'll answer. Yes...or no."

"He raped you," the Chinese girl stated, without a single ounce of hesitation, and it hurt - both of them - she knew. Then, more softly, "Or else, he...tricked you...somehow... But either way, he did...'that'. And you obviously didn't want it. That's why you're so angry at him."

She was almost - almost - prepared for him to say 'no'. Even if they both knew, it was really a 'yes'. And if he did, she would slap him again. It only made sense.

Well that--"Pretty vague, don't you think?" and she looked horrified. "Maybe." he answered.

"Yes." he tried again. Maybe that surprised her a little.

"...Allen..." She hugged him again, and she wanted to cry--but she didn't. Couldn't. Because she'd expected it, anyways. She'd known. "How long...? How...I mean, when? When did he...?"

And Allen accepted the hug, maybe because he couldn't see her face. He didn't even remind her that those weren't 'yes' or 'no' questions. "I've known him since I was seven. He moved in five years ago. Crap can happen in five years."

"So...so, it was five years ago...then...?" Lenalee confirmed. "Then...how many... You said 'crap can happen _in_ five years', not...'crap happened five years _ago_' So, obviously...it was more than once."

Allen nodded his head, only slightly.

"Not...all of it was...well," that was the difficult part, "he wasn't talking about that over the phone. It wasn't...that..." He could only hope she knew what 'that' was.

Lenalee nodded. "That doesn't answer my question, but...I get it. I think. What was he talking about on the phone, then? Because--'that' is sure what it sounded like. Or was it...like 'that', but...not quite? Something..." she paused, trying to find a good word, and was disgusted by how the only one she could think of, seemed to...to...to justify it, almost. But not really. "...something less severe?"

Allen let out a chuckle at his friend's vague wording. "Well...there's 'that' kind of 'that'...but I meant..." He pulled away, and placed both hands on either of her shoulders.

"Don't you think it's annoying when your body hates someone, but you aren't sure _you_ do anymore?"

Lenalee looked up through her the few remaining tears collecting in her eyes, and nodded once more. "I...yes, it is. So...are you saying...you don't hate him so much anymore? You don't 'like' him...but you don't 'hate him, either. Just...it's not so...unwanted...as it used to be...?"

"It can't be." Two could play at the wording game, and the cryptic smiles.

"I don't get _why_ but...it just...is. And he still does it too. Does both. Makes me think I should--and I don't, and--the thing he was talking about over the phone actually felt _good_ for once." Even if he had been dragged into the back of one of Anita's more..._exquisite_ rooms...

And, well, "I just...don't get it."

So when Lenalee kept staring at him, he wasn't so sure anymore. They had gotten so horribly off track and--

"But that wasn't a yes or no question. Ask one more."

"...one more 'yes or no' question? Or one more free-for-all?" Lenalee asked cheekily, actually managing a wry grin--even though it really. Wasn't. Funny. At all.

"Yes or no," he answered, not having the heart to give her more than just a simple smile in return

"...would you....regret it? If he stopped? Like...I guess, would you want it back?"

Allen paused for a moment, thinking that over--he honestly hadn't expected that, not that he really should have expected much of anything with Lenalee's current revelation. She wasn't the hopeless romantic anymore.

So he mulled it over, for a few moments, before the answer hit him, and tumbled out, regardless of what his mind was screaming. "Yeah, I would."

Was that bad?

Lenalee nodded, and allowed herself the smallest of smiles. That meant, at least - regardless of whether or not he knew it himself, of if he would _ever_ admit it - deep down, Allen was-

He was happy.

And that, really, was all Lenalee needed to know.

******Tyki & Lavi****  
--Approximately Two Hours Earlier--**

Lavi squeaked loudly, and quickly muttered into the phone, "Yeah, I gotta go now. I'll call you!"

Click.

"...Tyki..!!!" he snapped, irritated - no matter _how_ damn good the man's hands felt on him. "What the Hell was that all about, huh? I was on the phone..!"

Tyki couldn't keep the grin from his lips at the exasperated look on the redheads face. "Well, you have to agree it was fun, was it not? The thrill of getting...caught?" He ran his fingers along the boy's sides again, licking his lips and watching as the redheads cheeks darkened. Teasing the boy was just so much fun, after all~

Lavi's scowl deepened, and he shook his head. Then stopped. Then--blush deepening severely, he nodded, averting his eyes. "Well...maybe a little...bit fun... But if it hadn't been Lenalee, I would have _killed_ you for that! No one else knows I'm...gay... 'Cept Panda-jiji might have some suspicions, but...he'd kill _me_ for doin' this kinda stuff. So just..."

He leaned forward, lips just barely brushing against Tyki's, "...keep it in private, from now on..?"

Tyki raised an eyebrow at that and grinned, returning the light brush of lips with an equally light brush of his own. "Oh? Then I suppose, yes, this will be _our_ little secret, won't it?"

Except there was that insistent nagging at the back of his mind, telling him it wouldn't be. Not for long, anyway...and he couldn't quite place why. But, well, he supposed he could ignore it now, in favor of his fortunate luck, and pressed his lips a little more firmly against the redhead's.

Lavi mewled softly into the kiss, his hands coming up to clench tightly at Tyki's shirt as he shifted in the man's lap, trying to get more comfortable, but accidently rubbing up against him 'that' way in the process.

He jerked back in a combination of surprise and embarrassment, his cheeks now a shade to match his hair. "I--sorry...!"

Tyki raised yet another elegant eyebrow, and let out a low chuckle. "Don't be," he murmured, before sealing the boy's lips in another soft kiss, which, unfortunately, he had to break a little too soon. "Though I will say...in the library, hm? The _public_ library? Not that I mind, but..."

"I...no....you're right, though," Lavi mumbled quietly, highly flustered now. "We...probably _shouldn't_ be doing this. Not here. Not now."

He made to stand up, but when Tyki didn't relinquish his hold on his hips, Lavi gave a soft sigh, and settled back down, though this time trying to keep their position as less intimate as possible.

Tyki allowed his lips to twitch further into a smirk, as the boy shifted in his lap to try and find a more comfortable position. "Yes, I suppose now would be an...inadequate time. Maybe later, hm? If we don't get called away~" He gave the boy's hips one last squeeze before finally letting them go. "I don't know about you, but you may want to take care of that...problem...of yours, though~"

"Ah-!" Lavi blushed deeply, quickly jumping up from Tyki's lap, and pulled his backpack in front of him--he felt mortified. "Uhm...what...problem, Tyki?"

Gawd, he felt stupid. It was bad enough that the older man turned him on, but - in public? This easily? And it was _obvious_??? No. Just--no. Lavi was a very sexual creature by nature, yes...but was really, quite easily embarrassed. Especially by matters that were out of his control. Like hard-ons.

Especially when the cause of said hard-on was...giving him _that_ look. And laughing at him. Tyki was laughing. Lavi furrowed his eyebrows, and let out a frustrated huff of air, averting his eyes.

At Lavi's small indignant huff, Tyki attempted to quell his laughter. Honestly, though, the boy (and he really _was_ still a boy in his eyes) was just too...cute...

"Oh, don't worry, Lovey. I'm sure I'm the only one who would notice, but you really ought to take care of it. Unless you want to wear my jacket?" After all, he wasn't even quite sure _why_ he was wearing it in the first place. To look nice, yes, but he wasn't cold (despite the nippy chill that still hung in the air).

"I...well, I..." Lavi's mouth faltered, and his brain was soon to follow. "I..._here_?? You know...I would, but...well, there's nowhere here to...uhm...'take care of it'..." He coughed.

"I'll prolly just go look at some straight porn," he made a -very- disgusted face at the thought, "and it'll just...go away..."

Before Lavi could move much farther, Tyki sighed and reached out, linking two fingers through one of the boy's belt-hoops, and tugging him closer. "Or, we could make it back to the car and go elsewhere, unless you're feeling bold."

And he quite liked the little yelp that issued forth from Lavi's throat, when he traced the bulge lightly with the tip of his tongue.

Lavi couldn't help but to let out a startled - and quite flustered - yelp, when Tyki pulled him closer and did--and did--did _that_!

"Ahh--Tyki!!" he hissed, as loudly as he dared. Sure, they were in the back of the - rather large - library, but--it _was_ public. And you never knew who would get curious.

"What...what...in the car? Why?" He was almost afraid to ask. Almost. But he wanted to know what exactly Tyki was implying. "Tyki...?"

"I _mean_," Tyki sighed a bit, pulling away and leaning back, "we have the rest of the day, and you obviously aren't feeling one hundred percent. You tossed the icepack when we got in here."

At the boy's still confused look, he added, "My house--my apartment...you haven't seen it yet, have you?"

"Uhm..." Lavi stopped, and thought. Did he really want to answer this--even though they both knew what said answer was? He did, anyways. "No...no, I haven't... Uh, I guess...we can go there..."

In all actuality, he was starting to feel a little wary. Not that he didn't trust Tyki--he _did_, but--he didn't really trust himself, to be able to say no, if--_if_--Tyki wanted to do...do...'something'.

Tyki smiled, despite the wariness he could see reflecting in the other's lone green eye. "Okay then, why don't we?" And like the gentle men that he was, he stood up with grace, and held his hand out to Lavi.

Hesitantly, the boy grabbed it, and they headed out of the insufferably quiet place, to the parking lot, to his car...and though it took a while--a good fifteen minutes ('I love you, traffic,' he thought, with no small amount of sarcasm), they arrived safely. With the way Lavi was still shifting around, he _knew_ the boy was still hard. It was quite sad, really, and he tried hard not to laugh, as the redhead grimaced and forced himself out of the car

The moment he stood up from the uncomfortable (considering the circumstances) position he'd been forced in while sitting in the car, Lavi let out a slight groan of discomfort.

'Note', he thought, 'never ride in a car, with a raging hard-on. Bad for your health.'

He waited for Tyki to lock his car, and followed him into the building. They made their way through the halls, before finally stopping in front of a door. Lavi watched with anticipation--whether in a good or bad sense, he didn't know--as Tyki pulled out his keys - to the apartment, of course. They entered, and Lavi finally spoke up.

"So, uhm..." he started, not really sure what else to say.

"Make yourself at home."

Tyki smiled down at the boy, who looked both relieved and uncomfortable. He couldn't blame him, honestly.

"I'll get you some ice. Go sit on the couch." He pointed towards the living room (watching the boy's eye widen as he took in the...rather...well, he wasn't sure what Lavi thought his house looked like, truthfully), and made his way into the kitchen, off to the left.

Lavi nodded his head - slowly, so as to not jar the pain _still_ throbbing in his head - and turned, making his way to the living room. The hallway was bright. Bright, and white, and almost bare--save for a single photo hanging on the wall, of whom Lavi supposed was Tyki as a young boy--'Cute~!!'--and another boy, in his teens, who looked to be roughly ten years older. Lavi automatically made the connection--this must be Sheryl.

Smiling softly, the redhead continued on his way, entering the small, yet spacious living room. It was nicely furnished--a single large, burgundy leather couch placed in the center, facing a...62-inch screen TV. There was a cluttered oak desk off in the corner, where Lavi assumed Tyki did his work. It was also, 'conveniently' facing the television set. The walls were plain wood 'logs', reminiscent of a log-cabin, and sparsely decorated with assorted, mismatched artwork. And go figure - the TV had been left on, though thankfully the volume was on mute.

Lavi chuckled softly (he _totally_ could have predicted this), as he sat down on the couch, letting out a heavy sigh

Tyki could only assume Lavi was curious, but he resisted the urge to go peek out at the boy, until he heard a relieved sigh come from the other room, along with the sound of leather rubbing against jeans. Not that he was familiar with the sound, but--oh, and the bag was full of ice now.

The Portuguese man zipped it up and made his way out to the living room, via the convenient door he had added in with the help of his brother. He 'tsked' mentally at himself when he noticed the cluttered desk. He really had to remind himself to clean that off...

But now wasn't the time to worry about cleanliness, as his eyes fell on Lavi, leaning back, but shifting every once in a while. Poor boy was probably still painfully hard.

He chuckled at the thought, and moved up behind him, placing the icepack at the base of the boy's neck, and laughing outright when he jumped and swiveled around to meet his gaze.

"Kyaah-!!" Lavi shrieked, as something _unforgivably cold_ made contact with the much too sensitive skin of his neck. He spun around, only half angry, "_Tyki_!!!"

When the man's chuckle turned into actual _laughter_, the Bookman apprentice narrowed his gaze even further, and took a swing, knocking his fist half-heartedly into the older man's stomach.

"Was that _really_ necessary!?" he whined, turning on the pout--which, by the way, he was absolutely _pwn_ at.

Very good at, indeed. Oh yes, Tyki knew that for certain, and he let out a lower chuckle, leaning over the side of the couch to actually hand the boy the icepack. "No, it wasn't. I just wanted to see you squirm." He allowed his hand to fall quickly into the other male's lap.

"Though I suppose this," he squeezed, and felt the boy tense, "is doing that enough, hm?" And just to torture the redhead a little, he moved the hand back up, to stroke at the slightly rough texture (but still softer than his own) of the boy's hands.

Lavi couldn't help but let out a soft moan, though he somehow managed to cut it off mere seconds after it had started. Damnit. At this rate, he was only going to get even _harder_!

"Tyki..." he began, hesitant. He really didn't know what he was about to say - if anything at all - but he needed to say something. He just--didn't know what. And the almost-pain - though, it felt good, in a way - in his lap was making it _very_ hard for him to think. At all.

Tyki hummed, and watched the boy shift again. "Yes?"

He maneuvered his hand back to Lavi's lap and stroked, gently. Again the boy tensed--on edge, so on edge--and bit his lip.

"You really should take care of this," he murmured, dipping his head lower and whispering the words directly against the sensitive skin of the boy's neck.

Then he squeezed again, just for good measure.

Lavi moaned again, and this time, he didn't even bother to stop it. This--it was--it felt _good_. "Tyki..." he sighed the man's name again, eyes slipping shut, as he leaned his head further to the side--an automatic reaction to having the Portuguese' lips in such a _wonderfully_ sensitive spot.

But--he couldn't let this get out of hand--but, _oh_, he didn't even think he cared right now, because when he felt Tyki's hand stroking him _that_ _way_, he couldn't help but let all other thought rush out of his mind.

Tyki let out another low chuckle, and allowed his tongue to slip through his lips, and taste the Lavi's skin. He squeezed again, quickly, before working at the boy's belt buckle, then zipper--not even caring to maneuver the pants down, and instead diving his hand in to grip around the boy's hardening length.

This time, the redhead bucked up into his grip--and the moan had turned to a loud, keening whine, head dipped back--green eye glazed, name poised on his lips

"Tykiii...!!" he moaned out again, biting down - hard enough to draw blood - on his lip, as he tossed his head to the side. It was almost too much to bear, and _certainly_ more than anything else he'd ever done. Even with Yuu-chan.

He squirmed lightly, adjusting his position (with no small effort, mind) on the couch, before once again bucking himself into Tyki's hand. It felt...waaaay too good. And it wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be--though, he knew he'd be ridiculously flustered once he'd been 'relieved'... He just didn't give a fuck right _now_, was all.

Tyki let out a low chuckle, watching as the boy shivered and bucked and panted--face red, hair sticking to his forehead--then he got an oh-so-lovely idea. Pulling his hand back, he quickly fumbled with the icepack, ignoring Lavi's whine as he grabbed a piece--large enough that he was sure it wouldn't melt quickly, but small enough to fit into the palm of his hand easily.

"Hush, hush, Lovey," he murmured against the younger's ear, wrapping his hand - with the ice - around the boys cock again.

Lavi let out a startled howl, his voice ringing with both pain - it was _cold_, damnit!! - and pleasure. After all, the boy _was_ a bit of a masochist...

"Ty-Tyki..!!!" he whined wantonly, bucking his hips desperately against the older man's hand. "P-please..!!"

Tyki was certain the redhead didn't know how hot he looked. Certainly not.

"Please what?" he hummed, feeling his own temperature rise as the boy's hips continued to make short thrusts into the air.

"Please...more..!" Lavi whimpered. "I...think. I dunno? Just...don' stop...Tyki...please..!"

Dear Gods, he was begging like a whore. When did he reduce himself to this? But then--the idea of _not_ being touched was currently the most frightening thing he could possibly think of. Well--maybe second, only to Bookman somehow _walking in on them_--and it just...felt...so...damn..._good_.

Tyki let out yet another chuckle. "Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to." With that, he moved the piece of ice (now trickling water down Lavi's length) to his fingertips, then maneuvered it and ran it along the head of the boy's cock, watching it twitch with amusement.

Not only a few moments later, did the boy's back arch sharply back and--with a soundless shout--he came, head thrown back, eyes glazed, dilated, and--_goddamn_.

He felt his nether-regions (which had woken up some time ago) twitch at the erotic sight. Would the boy allow him to..? Or was that asking too much?

Lavi shivered lightly, one last barely-there moan leaving his still-parted lips. Finally regaining his breath, and, a bit of his strength, he managed to lift his head--cheeks flushing brightly as the 'moment' wore off--and went still as he noticed the..._darker_ look in Tyki's eyes.

"Ne, uhm...Tyki...?" he piped up hesitantly, his tone soft and questioning.

The man blinked, startled by the Lavi's soft tone, and attempted to smile, shaking his head. "It's nothing, Lovey...just...was this your first time...?"

Lavi's blush deepened even more, and he turned his face away, in a moot attempt to hide it. "...yes. I...the most I've _ever_ done...like that...has been with you, Tyki. And, well--that was...the farthest we've...gone..."

He couldn't believe they were talking about this. Hell, he couldn't believe they had _done_ that.

Tyki nodded his head in understanding, watching the boy flush and squirm in embarrassment, just like he thought he would.

"I...see. Would you be willing...to go farther, or would you rather wait?" Because he knew, maybe, to many people the 'first time' was important. Dreadfully so. He didn't want to take it from the boy, when he didn't want to give it whole heartedly.

"I--I'm sorry, Tyki, but...well--I guess you could say I fit the "hopeless romantic" type...in a way... I mean, I _do_ like you - obviously - but--I'm not...." He sighed, and shook his head. Why was he feeling _guilty_ about saying no? He was never supposed to be a 'try to please everybody' sorta guy, so...when the Hell had he turned into one?

"I'd...rather wait, Tyki. I'm sorry, but..."

"That's fine." Tyki gave off a smile. "I understand, completely."

He brushed his fingers through the red locks of hair, watching as the gears seemed to churn inside the boy's mind--as if he was trying to come up with something, as if-

"You shouldn't feel guilty about it," he reinforced, but the redhead didn't seem to hear him.

After a few more minutes of awkward - at least, it was to Lavi - silence, the redheaded teen finally spoke up, showing that he _had_ been listening, after all.

"Yeah, but--I just...feel...like I'm not being fair, y'know? I mean--you did _that_ for me...and I'm not doing anything for you...in return... Besides...I'm a bit...embarrassed..." he mumbled the last word under his breath, but the Portuguese man still managed to pick it up.

Tyki let out a low chuckle. "It's your first time, of course you are." He continued running his fingers through the boy's hair and sighed.

"It's actually quite endearing, but you know you don't _have_ to. Seeing you like that is enough." Though each time he shifted, even a little bit, his nether-regions reminded him that they needed to be 'taken care of'--and it seemed the redhead more than noticed.

Lavi swallowed, noticing Tyki's own more-than-obvious 'problem'. Now he felt _really_ guilty... He had no illusions that _he_ wasn't the cause of Tyki's current state of discomfort. But-

"Uhm...you seem to have your own 'problem', ne, Tyki-pon...?" he piped up, finally. "Is there...anything else...I could do?"

Tyki tensed at the words.

"I already said you didn't have to, Lovey." Though a small part of him was screaming at him to take advantage--takeadvantagetake-take-take--he cringed. "I can always deal with it myself."

Oh, but the look on the redheads face showed just how stubborn he was. Oh yes, definitely. Though Tyki didn't need very much coaxing to come around and sit next to the boy--he just...he just--"You really don't have-"

"-I want to," Lavi insisted, butting in stubbornly, as most redheads were prone to do. "I mean...I want to help--it's my fault you're...like 'that', after all--so...if there's anything...? Besides 'that', I mean...I can, y'know...try..." He looked away, his blush having returned.

Tyki thought the prospect over. "Of course...if you don't want to go all the way there's always--but you don't have to, again."

"Tyki." Lavi said the man's name sternly. "Just...shut the fuck up. Okay?"

That said, he moved swiftly, sliding over, and swinging a leg over both of Tyki's--effectively straddling the older man's lap. The boy leaned in, pressing his lips tightly against Tyki's own, and sliding his tongue out to briefly lick at the man's bottom lip. His hand reached down between them, and - feeling more bold than he ever had before - he squeezed, relishing in the surprised moan it drew out from his--damn, what _was_ he supposed to call Tyki?

Tyki had to say he was surprised when the redhead practically crawled into his lap--tongue slipping out to lap at his lower lip--but it certainly was distracting enough, when he felt the hand that had suddenly delved between them (when had that happened?) grip his member through his pants, and _tug_. He couldn't stop the groan, but then he found he didn't exactly _want_ to, with the smug (and adorable) look on the other's face. He was actually taking initiative...something Tyki couldn't help but feel was just too damn sexy.

But then he looked confused, for half a second--enough for Tyki to notice and question, though breathless. "What is it, Lovey?"

"W-well..." Lavi was obviously flustered. He really didn't want to pose that question to Tyki--he was embarrassed enough by the situation as it was, but... It was clear that Tyki wasn't going to give up, till he got his answer. "Uhm..."

"Just--I don't know what to...to call you..." he mumbled, but he didn't--_wouldn't_ let himself avert his gaze. "As in--regards to 'us'. Like...what we...are...to each other...I guess?"

'Ah.' Well that was a rather serious question, wasn't it? Something...to be mulled over, because, well-

"'Lovers' doesn't quite fit the circumstances, does it? And we aren't quite...what you call 'friends with benefits'." He wrinkled his nose at the term. He had had those before, and they always ended messily. "What would you like us to be called?"

"I..." Lavi shook his head, scrunching his nose, cutely--just as a rabbit would. "I really don't know, Tyki. That's why...I'm asking, I guess...?"

He sighed, and shook his head again. "Well...we can always discuss that later. Right? Now--what do you want me...to do..?"

"Mm...yes, talk later...but now...?" Tyki watched as the boy fidgeted--unintentionally brushing against him with his fingertips and--"You really _have_ never done this before? Even to yourself?" He hated how strained his voice sounded.

"Uhm...w-well, yeah...I've jerked myself off...if that's what you're referring to..." The redhead's blush had returned full-force, after finally leaving his face for the--he didn't even know how many times Tyki had made him blush today. "But...to someone else? Never. Nor...anything else, but...I'd be...willing to try, I think...?"

Well, now. "You really _are_ a virgin aren't you? So you always stopped at kissing?" The boy's face flared up.

"Goodness--well...then yes...this will be practice..." And then he placed one hand over the boy's own and _pressed_, grunting slightly as the fabric of his pants rubbed pleasantly against _that_ area.

Lavi's flush deepened, and he shook his head. "Well...Y-Yuu-chan gave me a...hicky...once..." he mumbled weakly, knowing it--really--didn't count for much. Or anything at all. Probably.

He tentatively squeezed Tyki's erection again, a bit harder this time, before moving his other hand down to join the first, and clumsily attempting to undo the man's buttons. After nearly a minute of this failure, he gave up, letting his head thunk down on Tyki's chest - causing the man to chuckle heartily - and threw his hand up in the air, half-heartedly. "I...ugh. My hands are shaking too much..."

Tyki grabbed said hands, and kissed them, causing the redhead's face to go nearly as bright as his hair.

"That's quite alright," he murmured, squeezing them before bringing them down to his button again, helping them undo it, and the zipper. "There, better?"

"Ah--yeah...thanks," the boy muttered, his voice quite a bit...higher-pitched, than normal. Without looking down - he thought _seeing_ 'it' would be a bit too much, at least at this point - he slid a hand inside the front of Tyki's opened jeans, and wrapped his hand around the--Oh Gods!--thick length. It was pretty long too, if feeling was anything to go by. Which it most definitely _was_.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips softly - yet urgently - against Tyki's, and squeezed gently with his hand, sliding it up slowly, then down again, then up once more.

Tyki let out a soft groan as the redhead's hand started to work against his member--and he could feel everything, from the sharp intake of breath (that made him smirk. Hmm, he was definitely bigger than Lovey had expected~?), to the slight squirms, and barely there sighs as he deepened the kiss. Soon, the boy's hand grew bolder, moving faster--running over the tip--running a nail over the slit--

Tyki shuddered, and pulled away slightly. "My, you're a fast...learner..." Why was he so breathless?

"Yeah...I _am_ the Bookman's apprentice...after all..." Lavi retorted, rather smugly. "And _you_...seriously need to shut up now. And enjoy this. I'm sure you can find some," again, he licked at the other's lips, "other ways...to occupy that obnoxious mouth of yours...?"

He kept his lips just barely a few inches from Tyki - providing incentive, he told himself - and kept up the busy work of his hand. Soon, he added a second one, using both to pleasure the older man beneath him, bringing him closer and closer to completion.

And really--what _could_ Tyki use his mouth for? Maybe the boy shouldn't have said that, as he leaned forward to rest his head gently against Lavi's shoulder. Oh, but didn't he have such an evil little plan?

The boy was concentrating _so hard_ now. Goodness, he'd feel bad~

But no, not really, as he opened his mouth and licked the skin there, trailing up until he reached the earlobe, then tugging at the boy's earring with his teeth.

Lavi let out a - rather undignified - squawk, his hands stilling momentarily in his surprise, before he slowly, shakily, picked it back up.

"Ty-Tyki..!! That wasn't what I meant, and you _know_ it!!" he whined, mewling softly as Tyki's mouth continued to abuse the most sensitive part of his ear.

Tyki hummed, and continued to run his tongue over and through the earring, tasting skin and metal all in one. "You did say I had to distract my mouth, didn't you~?"

"W-well...yes, but..." Lavi's voice faltered--Tyki had a _point_. "But that's not what I _meant_." He accentuated the words with an extra-hard squeeze, from both hands. Then, leaning forward again - just brushing their lips together for the barest of moments, he murmured, "This is..." And their lips connected.

'Oh is it?' Tyki smiled into the kiss, returning it, and quickly deepening it as the hands worked harder between them, making him shudder. It wouldn't be long now, with those slightly calloused, but still soft, hands working on him.

Lavi couldn't help but moan softly, as he parted his lips, and Tyki's tongue slid in between them--and he wasn't even the one receiving the 'special treatment'!

"Mmng...Tyki-" he mumbled against the other's lips, sighing softly, as he continued to jerk the other man off, increasing his efforts even more. He could feel the Portuguese's shaking grow stronger--he was close, and Lavi couldn't wait to make him see stars.

Tyki felt Lavi's hands speed up and grinned, running his tongue along the boy's lips, smirking just a bit more when the redhead allowed easy access--opening his mouth so their tongues could tangle.

If he had been close before, with the ever tightening grip the boy had on his cock, he was certainly near the brink--his skin highly sensitized, whenever his shirt would brush against heated skin.

Lavi was struck by a sudden idea, and it nearly made him sick...but only because he actually really, really wanted to try it. Well...he would have to see.

"Ne...Tyki..." he voiced as he pulled back, their lips only remaining connected by a thread of saliva, before it, too, snapped. "Do you...want me to try something else? Besides my hands, I mean...?"

Tyki blinked down at the boy, who was blushing again--eye traveling downward just to shoot right back up and focus on his face. Hm, such a proposition the boy had just made~

"If you would like. It could be interesting~" He was glad he managed that out without a breathless stutter, though his heartbeat sped up just a little when the boy shifted out of his lap and to the floor, kneeling carefully between his legs as he dipped his head down, and Tyki felt that warm, moist, tongue run across-

And he groaned.

'Goddamn.' It had been a while since he had done this.

Lavi was still feeling incredibly shy, of course, but like Tyki said--it was 'practice'. And so long as he focused his mind on the 'learning' aspect of this experience, he figured he'd survive it just fine.

Now, obviously, the boy had never given a blowjob before - nor had he received one - but he'd sure as Hell read and watched enough porn to know what worked. Testingly, he slid his tongue out against the slit of Tyki's member, collecting the precum there--it tasted...odd, but not in a particularly bad way. Tucking that mental note away for later, the redhead opened his mouth wider, and closed it around the head, sucking gently, before moving down even further. It was hard, but after a few tries - and _lots_ of swallowing - he'd managed to take almost all of Tyki into his mouth. Eyes watering slightly from the efforts, he pulled back, took as deep a breath as he could with his mouth still mostly filled, and then repeated the whole process all over again.

Tyki tensed even more as the redhead repeated his previous actions, hissing and--well he didn't want to _hurt_ the boy, so he simply placed his hands on the his head, focusing on keeping his hips from bucking up. But it...was...surprisingly hard, as the teen shivered, and swallowed and gasped for breath--letting him go with a wet 'pop' before allowing his breath to ghost over the head of his member. _Oh_, he couldn't be doing that on _purpose_, could he?

Before Lavi could lower his head again, Tyki murmured, "suck."

Only to get a confused look in return. The realization of what the man meant hit roughly two seconds later, and Tyki tried so hard not to laugh at the blush that spread across the boy's cheeks.

Finally, Lavi nodded - the red not leaving his cheeks for even an instant - and went back immediately to the task at hand. Leaning down, he once again took Tyki's arousal into his mouth - only halfway, this time - and added quite a bit more suction as he pulled back, going to repeat the motion again, and again.

Deciding to try something a bit different, he once again took the man as deep as he possibly could - what with his lack of experience, and all - and moaned softly around the length in his mouth, bombarding the older man with delightful vibrations.

"Ah..._fuck_..." Tyki groaned out once the vibrations started, and he could've sworn Lavi was smiling--as much as he could with his mouth so full--"Good...ness...Lovey, you c-certainly do learn fast~" He hated the stuttering, but simply laced his hands through the boy's hair and tugged, just a bit, telling him (he hoped) to get on with it.

Lavi opened his eye briefly, flicking his gaze up to glare at Tyki through his bangs. 'Shut the fuck up, or I'll bite,' the look told him. Confident that that was the end of that, Lavi let his eye fall shut again, and he continued, as he'd been doing before, but sucking just a bit harder now.

'So the rabbit _could_ bite.' Tyki smiled, amused, by that thought--but, well, he couldn't quite think anymore, much to his chagrin, when, only a split second later, the boy began sucking faster than before and--and--he tightened his grip in his hair, and he felt the threat of teeth, grazing along--but that just--just-

"Love--Lovey..." The boy didn't stop.

"Unless you--" Ah, fuck it.

Lavi's eyes widened in shock, but (he'd watched enough porn to expect it) he didn't pull away. After all, he'd rather Tyki cum in his mouth, than on his face. It was...kinda arousing, actually...

The apprentice Bookman tried his best to swallow all of it, but--damnit, Tyki had a big load!--it couldn't be helped that some of the man's seed leaked out past his lips, and dribbled, unnoticed, down his chin. Finally, he pulled back, eye coming back into focus, as his blush returned ten-fold. "Uhm..."

Tyki let out a shaky breath, slowly opening his eyes and attempting to regulate his breathing. Which had been going well, and maybe he should be glad for how...content...he was, or else the sight that met him when he opened his eyes would have just turned him on again--and he didn't think he could just get off on oral again.

So instead he smiled, and leaned forward, capturing the boy's lips in another kiss--licking up the seed that still stained the boy's lips before pulling back and saying, "You certainly _are_ a quick study."

This only served to make the boy blush brighter, and whack him embarrassedly on the arm.

"TYKI!!!" Lavi cried indignantly. Even his _ears_ were red now! This was--just--he looked down at his watch, more for a distraction than anything, and felt his eyes widen. It was already 11:50am. "You know...shit....this whole...'adventure', today, has lasted longer than I thought..."

Tyki simply let out a chuckle.

"Well I wonder whose fault that is?" Because quite honestly, he hadn't expected his day to turn out quite like it had--not that he regretted it, and it simply made the boy blush harder--said blush increasing tenfold when a rather embarrassing growl emitted from his stomach.

"Uhm...yeah...guess that means I'm hungry. Or, 'still' hungry, I should prolly say...?" he joked, trying to lighten the moment. "Sorry about that...and shut up, you." The last comment was, of course, directed at his rebellious stomach.

He stood up shakily, grabbing Tyki's knee for support, and plopped himself back down on the couch beside the man, smiling at him shyly.

Tyki smiled back, and for the umpteenth time wondered how such a...sexual...creature such as Lavi could be so _shy_. But then, well, he wouldn't question it.

"Would you like to get something to eat?" he asked, completely innocent, as he zipped up his pants, and reached over to tug at the redhead's own.

Lavi growled lightly, and swatted at Tyki's hands, embarrassed. "I can do that, Tyki..." He soon gave up, however, and let Tyki have his 'moment'. Then, considering his question-

"Uhm, if it's not too much to ask...? I don't exactly...have any money with me, so..." After all, he hadn't been expecting his day to progress this way. At all. In fact, he still had a bit of trouble believing it fully.

"Of course I don't mind," Tyki hummed. "Though I'm not exactly sure what I have on...hand..." he trailed off, and stood up, feeling Lavi's hands on his back--and soon hearing the boy's own footsteps follow him into the small--but not cramped--kitchen.

"Look in the cabinets over there." He pointed off to the stove. "And I'll look in here.

If you find anything, tell me. Though I will warn you--I don't exactly...cook for myself."

Lavi turned back to him, almost shocked--a question ready on his lips, but he answered it before a single word could slip out. "My brother keeps me well stocked, as sad as it sounds. Either that, or I'm paid enough so that I can go out to eat if I so choose to--and I usually have business meetings over lunch or dinner, so..." Then he trailed off, shrugging.

And Lavi still looked slightly surprised.

He began rummaging through the indicated cupboards, alarmed at the lack of 'effort-required' options. Tyki really _didn't_ cook, did he...?

"...are you and Sheryl-san close?" he asked, remembering the stark hallway's lone 'decoration', and how the older man apparently played such a seemingly big part in Tyki's life.

Tyki let out a sigh, rummaging through his fridge for something that wouldn't require too much work, but at Lavi's question he looked up. "Hm? Ah--well, yes, yes we are." He smiled.

"He's my only brother, after all. We've been through a lot together." Which they had, there was no doubt about that, and though the man could stand to be a little _less_ creepy...he was still family.

Lavi seemed to be even more curious now, though, turning fully to look at him, green eye bright and curious.

"Oh?" Lavi was extremely curious now. Besides, if this 'Sheryl' still looked anything like in the one photo Lavi had seen...he seemed to be quite attractive. "Like what? And Tyki--_put_ those away!! We are _not_ having Kraft Lunchables! Do you _know_ how bad those are for you?"

Lavi sighed, and shook his head. "Fine. Do you, I dunno...have any rice, or something? Pasta? _I'll_ make us lunch, but please--put that shit away!"

Tyki's face fell just a tad at Lavi's blatant admonishment of his...eating habits, but, well-

"I might have some pasta there." He pointed to another cabinet. "As for Sheryl and I, well, you'll be meeting him later. That can be your starting line." He paused and thought over the prospect--Sheryl. And Lavi. Alone. In a room. _Together_.

"Hopefully he won't do anything weird this time..." It was only after Lavi shot him a strange look, that he realized he had said that out loud.

"Weird?" Lavi inquired - completely innocently, for once - as he opened the aforementioned cupboard. He searched around for a moment, then with a small "Aha~", he pulled out a box of macaroni noodles. "Man...you're gunna _love_ me for this, after. I'll make my homemade Mac-and-cheese. I swear, after you try this--you'll never look at KD the same way again!"

"Mac and Cheese? KD?" Tyki blinked, slightly confused. "I suppose I'll just have to wait and see for myself, hm?"

Quite honestly, anything sounded good--if 'homemade' was attached to it. And of course, any subject was better than talking about _Sheryl_. He mentally cringed.

"Wait--you--you _don't_ know what Mac-and-cheese is? Macaroni and cheese?" Lavi gasped, absolutely horrified as he spun around to face Tyki. "I'm _ashamed_ of you, Tyki!!! Now, where's the flour? I can get the butter, milk and cheese myself... Oh. And grab me the cheese-grater too, please? And a plate. Uhm...and two pots, one big, one small."

He made his way to the fridge, grabbing three of the previously mentioned ingredients, before going back to the counter. "By the way, you're going to answer my question, whether you like it or not."

Tyki could only sit and watch--only moving to show him where the pots were--and, well--"Questions can wait till we eat, hm~?"

Which would mean, he would simply distract the boy. Because, well--Sheryl...and food, actually--that was a very _bad_ combination. "Actually, we'll save it for after."

At that, Lavi shot him an odd look, one he really wished didn't have any words attached to it, but, unfortunately for him, wishful thinking didn't exactly _work_.

"'Later', as in, 'while we eat'--that's what you meant..._right_?" Lavi more demanded, than asked. "I might be, well..._shy_, but I'm not queasy. I can handle whatever it is you're afraid of, Tyki. I have a _very_ strong stomach."

After gathering all the proper ingredients and utensils, Lavi began to grate the cheese onto a plate--and a whole damn _lot_ of it, at that. Once that was done, he set about melting some butter in the small pot, mixing in the flour after turning the flame off on the stove, then on again after adding the milk.

"You should pay attention to this, Tyki," he added absently, stirring as the concoction gradually became thicker. "You might actually _learn_ something about good food."

And Tyki paid attention. As much as he could anyway, as Lavi added the various ingredients, and the water came to a boil.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he wondered--about Sheryl, of course, who else? And the boy gave an affirmative nod. "Well--I suppose...I can tell you a little, while we eat. Might have to demonstrate." He let out a sigh. "Though I'm afraid I'm not inclined to replicate _everything_ he...might...do..."

He hoped against hoped that something clicked in Lavi's brain, and maybe it did? He couldn't tell--the boy had turned his face away from him and was concentrating on pouring the correct amount of noodles into the now slightly salted water.

"Well, just do your best, ne? If he's as 'weird' as you say, then shouldn't I be at least somewhat prepared?" He loved his logic. It was irrefutable. And Lavi loved irrefutable logic.

Finally, the sauce was ready, and he added the cheese--small handfuls at a time, until it had all melted. Then, he put the lid on the pot, to stay warm until the pasta was ready. He turned to Tyki, raising an eyebrow at the man's...awkward(?) stance.

"...seriously...what could be so bad about him?"

Tyki let out a sigh. "Does the word 'creeper', 'creeper pervert', and 'creeper pervert stalker' mean anything to you?"

"Hmm...perhaps. Perhaps not," Lavi replied vaguely, in an almost sing-song voice. Then, just because he _really_ couldn't help it, "Oh, and the correct word in that sentence would have been 'do', not 'does'. And 'word' should have been pluralized."

He laughed at Tyki's grumble, and shook his head.

"I highly doubt my phrasing...needs to be corrected, Lovey." Then he sighed. "Turn around for a moment."

"Hmm...?" Lavi hummed in curiosity, at the same moment he turned, wondering what was on Tyki's mind...

When the boy turned around, Tyki cringed. He...he really didn't want to do this--_really_ didn't want to, and he wasn't even sure it would _work_ but--he would try anyway. Stepping up exceedingly too close to Lavi, he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"First, he'd do this," he explained, while the teen looked back up at him. "Then he will probably talk to you for an exceedingly long period of time, like this. Then," he started rubbing the boy's shoulder, then back, then arm, "he'd do this--in any number of patterns, still talking about some random crap that probably wouldn't do you any good." He continued to keep his hands moving--constantly--_constantly_--until Lavi started fidgeting.

"Now imagine someone you don't know doing that to you." At those words, his hand swept to the boy's hip and pinched, before moving down lower, only to skirt back up again. "Do you get it now?"

"Uhm...yeah... I think I get it..." Lavi acknowledged, and gulped. "But...ehh. So long as maybe I can _get_ to know him - at least a bit - before he...does that...then I'll be fine. Probably. I think." He paused, turning back to the stove quickly, and turning off the element with the pasta.

"Strainer," he said simply, and when Tyki passed it to him, the boy took the noodles over to the sink, proceeding to drain out the water, and then put them back into the pot. Next, he added in the sauce--still steaming with the sharp aroma of _lots_ of aged cheddar--and mixed it in. The two dished up their plates, and made their way to the table. Before they could dig in and start eating, however, Lavi posed another question.

"I mean...it doesn't get any more...awkward than that, right..?"

Tyki really wanted to try this food. But it seemed Lavi was still too curious for his own good. So he sighed, and set down his spoon, looking up at the ceiling. "That's...just...when you first meet him. He's--_very_ touchy-feely. It's why I'm afraid of you being alone in the room with him."

He really wished he didn't have to say that, but Lavi looked nervous now, and it _needed_ to be said. "If he's...unsupervised...then...the only reason people keep quiet about what he does is because of how much money they make working for him."

"And....what exactly is it...that he does, unsupervised...?" Lavi was almost hesitant to ask--not afraid, just hesitant. But he needed to know. If _he_ was going to be 'working' with this man in the future, then he needed to know what to expect. "Is it...really anything worse than what _we_ just did...?"

"He's very persuasive." And that--that was all he could say. "Now let's eat, please? This is why I wanted to talk about this _later_." Because it had the potential of making anything delicious suddenly inedible.

"Ahh...yes, sorry. My curiosity always seems to get the best of me...but...later, okay? Tell me more? I...I think I should at least be allowed to know what I'm to expect, if I'm gunna be...working with him..." Lavi trailed off there, seeing the warning look in Tyki's eyes, and scooped up a forkful of his lunch, shoving it into his mouth to effectively stop himself from saying anything more. And again, just as he finished that bite, he had another one ready to take its place.

And quite honestly, Tyki had to admit--this was good. Yes, he had heard of Mac and Cheese, but either he had been too poor to ever try it, or he had been too high-class to. Quite ironic how the two furthest social classes could share something so...common.

Before he realized it, he was finished, and standing up--Lavi was too--taking the dishes to the sink and washing them, no questions asked. It was...cute, in it's own odd way, and deserved a question. "I assume you're the one who cooks the most at home?"

Lavi nodded silently, then added, aloud, "Every night, ever since I can remember. Unless I'm out for a night, then Bookman eats out or grabs leftovers, and I'd end up with double the dishes the next day. But yeah...it's always been my duty. Cooking, and cleaning."

They lapsed into silence for a while, after that--Lavi washing the dishes (and not just the ones they'd used for this meal), and Tyki looking on in amusement.

"You really are quite the...housewife, aren't you?" Tyki murmured, chuckling when, after Lavi thoroughly cleaned the dishes, he stacked them nice and neat, and started wiping up the water that had splashed on the counter

"Oh, shut it," Lavi snapped half-heartedly, trying not to laugh, despite the soft pink dusting his cheeks. "But...yeah, I guess you have a point. And honestly, I wouldn't mind it...being one, I mean... But! Don't you _dare_ tell Bookman that! He'd kill me--quite literally, possibly." His blush was even deeper now.

Tyki let out yet another soft chuckle--today was so full of laughter, wasn't it?--and nodded his head. "Oh, don't worry, I won't." Even through the joking tone, he knew the boy was serious and-

"Who would you be a housewife to, I wonder~?"

"Hmm..." Lavi pondered the question seriously. "I don't actually know, really. I've...never been in love before, so until that happens - which, no matter _what_ Panda-jiji says, is bound to happen someday - I don't have a clue." He hoped that answer would be good enough - even though, something told him Tyki would be disappointed...and he refused to wonder 'why'.

That sent a jealous pang through the Portuguese, just as had the fact the boy wouldn't do more than--but no. No. He sighed.

"Well, I hope you find that person, then." And he smiled. "You're right, though--everyone falls in love at some point."

'It's only up to the other person whether or not the feelings are returned.' But he didn't dare say that out loud.

**xoxox **

_**Author's Note: **_

_And there you have it. Chapter 2 complete. All I have to say is…poor Tyki, but yes he does find someone eventually *cryptic* or…well not so much if you actually read the pairing list in the previous chapter *laugh*_

_As I said in the last chapter: Questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? SEND IT VIA REVIEW! One of us is sure to answer you!_

_-Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy Winter holidays for those who don't!_


	3. Changes

_**Author's Note: **__ Ohaaaai~ Wow. Time for the third chapter already--I really can't believe it. Considering we only update every two weeks--it really doesn't seem like it's been this long. -blinks rapidly-  
Anyhoodles. This chapter focuses on Allen and Lenalee--though a few "new" characters are introduced, as well. Some minor--others who you'll be seeing a /lot/ more of, in the events to come.  
__As always--we hope you enjoy, and you can expect chapter four on January 22__nd__._

_**Disclaimer: **__ We do not own D. Gray-man, as much as we'd like to. But we /do/ own our plot, our ideas, and the minds that spawned this chaos you people have somehow gotten suckered into reading._

_**Warnings for This Chapter: **__Off-duty prostitutes, skipping class, Anita being a discreet!pervert, Link being cynical, the needless destruction of an innocent ice-cream cone, DDR madness, Sokaro's and Kanda's foul language, and a trip to the Principal's office._

**Chapter Three  
"****Changes"**

For a while it was silent, and Allen wasn't particularly sure if he liked it or not, but Lenalee was smiling now, despite her eyes still being a little puffy. And she was smiling at _him_, with that look on her face like she knew something he didn't.

He wasn't quite sure he liked that either but--but--he was feeling a little too bare at the moment, despite being fully clothed, like he revealed too much and--he _didn't_ like it. At all.

So he sighed, and tried to smile--tried to get back into 'This is friend time, not family time' mode, and well--it nearly worked. It nearly worked, so he asked, "What do you wanna do now? It's almost the end of third period."

He glanced down at his watch just to make sure. "Do you wanna go back, or do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Hrmm...you know, I think we might as well stay out. I mean, there's," Lenalee checked her own watch, "only twenty or so minutes left of class--there's really no sense in showing up now..." She smiled warmly at him, and her eyes were once again--finally!--filled with laughter.

She loved spending time with Allen--more than anything else--and was glad to finally be able to do so again. As 'herself' this time, no less.

Allen smiled back, glad that the somber mood had finally lifted. Maybe now he could actually cover himself a bit--yeah--hide that...part that shouldn't be shown to just anyone.

So he attempted a curious expression, because he _could_ be curious around friends, and said, "Well...if we were going to go somewhere, um, how about we just skip class till lunch? All I had to really stay for was English--and that was my first period class, and I have math right after lunch. What about you?"

"Well, I've already missed Art and Chem., and I only have Drama next, so...we might as well just ditch till lunch rolls around. Got any ideas for where we could go? There's always that arcade, but I'm not sure if there's anything else you'd rather do..."

She looked up at Allen, waiting--expectantly--for his answer. In all truths, she didn't really care what they did. Just being with her best friend was fun enough.

"Apparently we have a substitute teacher in Creative Writing today, and Art's my next class, so...yeah I don't see why not?" Smiling came a bit easier this time around.

"The Arcade, right? It's a little far from here, but I know a short cut." He paused for a moment. "Um, though it's in the morning so I guess it should be fine--we have to go through a few alleyways to get there."

She didn't look deterred by that though, and it almost disturbed him. Almost.

"Alright!" she exclaimed, actually rather excited. "Let's go, then."

She linked her arm through Allen's, and allowed him to lead her--like the gentleman he'd always been--down the street, towards their destination. She'd only ever been to the arcade once - and it hadn't been during school hours - so the girl was more than happy to let her friend to take the lead. She enjoyed just being with him, after all--no matter what they were doing.

It was just like old times--the Chinese girl linking arms with him--with a too bright smile on her face (like what happened...hadn't just happened, which was just a little disturbing. Just a little). He ignored it though, and soon they found themselves back on the sidewalk, leading into the city. The farther they got in, the closer packed the buildings became, until there were only small dingy alleyways between them.

Alleyways where...things...happened. He suppressed the barely there shudder--hoping Lenalee didn't notice--and led her to the first one.

"See, we cut in through here, then another one, and we _should_ be there in no time. Oh, there's also an ice cream shop along one of these routes--we can stop by it if you want." Because he, thankfully, actually had some extra cash--cash that...that guy hadn't filched from him to buy booze.

Lenalee nodded, and continued to follow Allen, keeping her eyes ahead, or on her friend's face. She'd already looked at the...more-than-filthy ground once, and she wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

"Alright...are we almost there, Allen?" She didn't like this place--this alley. It made her feel sick to her stomach, because--because--even if she couldn't _see_ anything, she could still...smell...it...

They stepped out onto the street once more, and though Lenalee probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, he could. There had been a scuffle the night before (this part of town was known for being dangerous, after all) over drugs, or money, or heck--even ice cream, he didn't know.

"There's the shop~" He pointed to the very brightly colored walls, and the paint splattered windows.

And through the paint splattered windows he could see--_wait_...wait a second.

Was that...?

The person in the window turned--and immediately their eyes locked. It didn't even take a full minute for the door to be pushed open, and a tall woman in her 20's or 30's (she had never given him her exact age) waved towards them.

Lenalee looked between her friend, and the unknown woman staring at him from the door to the ice-cream shop. "Allen...?" She tugged his sleeve.

Receiving no gratifying response, she tugged and started pulling him towards the door. It was a cute shop--and Allen seemed to know this woman, so--it couldn't be bad, right? "Allen...who is she?" she asked him, just before they reached the entrance, where the strange woman waited.

Allen didn't resist Lenalee tugging on his arm; after all--this was Anita...she was a safe person. And when they reached the front of the shop--where Anita was both smiling and smirking (how she accomplished that, he'd never know), eyeing the both of them-

"So, you're playing hooky?" she asked, straight at him. "And you brought a girl with you." As always the eyes ran over the girl--each time she met someone new, those eyes always did a scan-check.

"And such a cutie too~!"

He could see Lenalee flush, ever so slightly. "Allen, this wouldn't happen to be your-"

"Friend, Lenalee," he cut her off. "I think I've mentioned her before."

Realization lit in the woman's eyes, and Lenalee shifted a bit. "Lenalee, this is Anita, I think I mentioned her once."

That earned a raised eyebrow. "You did?"

And he couldn't blame the surprise he heard in her voice.

Family life. School life. They never mixed--she _knew_ that-

"Just mentioned you actually, we were going to get ice cream." He looked past her through the doors. "Who's working today?"

"Link is," Anita answered with a shrug. "He's in a bit of a bad mood right now, though." Her eyes fell on Lenalee again, this time to her face.

"But that's not important. Lenalee--is it? Lena is fine, right?" She didn't wait for a response. "Your make up is ruined, what happened?"

She pulled the girl into a comforting, familiar hug that she gave _everyone_. "Here, here, let's fix it up before you go in, okay?" She pulled out a tissue, and began dabbing at the eyeliner and mascara that was no doubt smeared.

And Lenalee let her.

Allen felt his lips twitch. "I guess I'll order us ice cream then? What flavor do you want?"

"U-Uhm...I..." Lenalee stuttered. She was quite obviously flustered--and just that fact was making her _more_ so. But--damn--Anita was...really, really hot! And...she was...touching her face.

She had _hugged_ her.

Lenalee felt as though her chest was going to burst! "Uhh...Rum-Raisin...please...? Allen?"

Allen almost wanted to laugh as his friend's face turned beat red--and Anita _noticed_ (he could almost hear the next sentence forming in the woman's head)--and shrugged, then nodded. Only she would get what it was to, and Lenalee would be left thinking it was about ice cream.

"Okay then." He flashed her a smile as well, before opening the glass doors and walking in. He barely got ten feet when heard an all too familiar voice--connected to an all too familiar blond with a straight back ponytail, and narrow beady eyes. Not your average 'ice cream man', by any means.

"Oi, Walker," Link called out, snidely. "What are you doing, skipping school...oh? Who's the girl?" He leaned forward over the counter slightly--as if that would do him any good, really--and narrowed his eyes to get a better look through the window. "And why is...was she crying?"

His eyes had widened by then, in slight alarm. "What happened? You should _know_ better than to make girl cry, brat."

Allen let out a sigh at the accusation. "It wasn't my fault. I brought her here to make her feel better." The man raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"And she just so happened to want some ice cream--so...Rum-Raisin, and Strawberry Cheesecake please~"

The man scowled, but backed away, grabbing his scooper, and not even asking what 'size'--he already knew. After all, Allen had been stuck working with him for a few hours--so of course he knew which ice cream tub he'd have to refill the fastest.

Before long, Allen had a small cone of Rum-Raisin, and a large cone of Strawberry Cheesecake in either hand, but before he could turn around and go, Link opened his mouth-

'Oh great'

"So...it seems like Anita's...taken a liking to her," the blonde observed, but not without lacing a hint of...well, a 'hint' into his voice. He shook his head. "You might wanna go out there and defend your girlfriend--assuming she is, which I doubt--before Anita tries to take her upstairs...you know what I mean?"

He grinned, watching Allen fume at him. Oh, how he _loved_ tormenting this boy.

And how Link so thoroughly annoyed the ever living heck out of him, Allen would never know. But he ignored it, instead opting to open the glass doors and stop Anita from--was she licking the...make up...off...?

The door slammed, making Anita jump, turn, and glare. He sent an equal one right back, and immediately her hands fell to her sides and she stepped away from Lenalee-

Whose face was currently bright red.

"Here's your ice cream," he said with a smile, handing hers out, and resisting the urge to laugh when Lenalee could barely hold it from--oh, that wasn't good.

He shot another look at Anita, who simply shrugged, and mouthed, 'She's cute, what can I say?'

He licked a lone drip trailing down his cone.

'She isn't yours, is she?' Anita sent him another meaningful look as Lenalee nibbled on her own ice-cream, 'I mean Cr--'

He sent her a glare, and she shut up.

Good, well--at least Kanda was good for _something_.

Lenalee took her ice-cream with slightly shaking hands, and lightly licked at it, as she watched Allen and Anita interact through the corner of her eyes. Her blush increased with every sideways glance either of them sent her--especially Anita--and by now her hands were shaking so hard, she nearly dropped her ice-cream. But she caught it.

Even more flustered now--due to embarrassment that was entirely her own fault--the Chinese girl licked the small, stray dollop of ice-cream off the heel of her palm. Then, she remembered how Anita had...licked her makeup...off her face...and, blushing worse than ever now, this time she _did_ drop her cone, letting out a surprised squeak as she did so. Thankfully, she'd already finished most of it by now.

Allen immediately looked back over when he heard a squeak, and saw the ice cream fall to the pavement. Most of it was gone, but he saw her deflate just a little--and before he could even ask _why_ she dropped it (though her blushing face was enough for him to make a pretty accurate guess), Anita was already tsk'ing, and shaking her head.

"Oh dear, are you okay?"

He could tell she was teasing her, he could _tell_--but she cast him a pleading look, and, well--what could he do? Nothing...not really. It wasn't like it was _bad_, unless he wanted to go back on his own words (spoken or not) from earlier.

So he simply watched--as Anita placed a hand on the girl's face, and wondered out loud, "You're awfully warm...are you sure you're okay? Would you like some more ice cream? I can buy you some, if you want?"

"I-I...no, thank you..!" Lenalee's voice came out much higher than she would have liked it to, and she mentally kicked herself. Then she mumbled, "I'd...probably just drop it again, anyway..."

Lenalee cast a pleading look at Allen, begging with her eyes for some hint of what to do. She was making an idiot of herself, she knew, but--there was nothing to be done about that. Not when Anita was right _there_, looking at her like _that_, with her hand on her face.

Allen noted Lenalee's desperate look, and pretended to glance down at his watch. "Er, yeah, besides--we're going to the arcade and I don't think they'd let us in there with ice cream."

Anita shot him a dirty look, and he swallowed--but the look quickly turned friendly enough. "Really? I could've sworn Wisely was working today."

"He works at the pet-shop on Friday's." The words tumbled out before he could stop them, and Anita laughed.

"Oh, of _course_, yes, right. I forgot." She gave him a knowing look that--no, he wasn't blushing--"Cross must've told you that too."

Oh--Oh jeez.

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter. I'm thinking about hitting the hay anyway."--She yawned, and it actually looked realistic--"I suppose I'll see you around dinner time, ne?"

She cast a look back at Lenalee, and smiled, eyes just a little softer. "And I hope I'll see you again? Allen, you should invite her over for dinner at least once~"

Before Allen could even agree to that statement, Anita had leaned down and planted a very soft kiss to the girl's cheek...dangerously close to the mouth. Too close, and Lenalee looked just about read to pass out, but Anita was already halfway down the street at that time, leaving Allen to--well, snap Lenalee out of it.

Lenalee blinked. Then blinked again. And one more time, then-

"Kyaaaaahh~!!!" she exclaimed, her face _very_ nearly the shade of a tomato. "A-A-Allen...w-w...was that...is that how she _normally_ is with girls she doesn't know...?"

She almost dared to hope that it wasn't--that she was...different. But she didn't let herself, not wanting to be set up for disappointment. It was...more than obvious that the poor girl was crushing--and rather severely, too--on Anita, and she didn't even bother to hide that fact from Allen.

Allen blinked, and cringed. Yes, Lenalee was...crushing...on Anita. Or developing a crush--or--"Well it means she thinks you're cute."

He attempted to smile, but he highly doubted it was registering in Lenalee's mind. "Though she _does_ say that...to a lot of people. It's her job." That seemed to get through a little bit, and as much as he hated the fact that it hurt her, he wouldn't take it back. He didn't want her to get _hurt_, after all, and-

Well.

"I could invite you over for Dinner when she's there. But I...don't want...so--I'll...talk to her about it? I'm sorry, it's just...it's her job. It's why she sleeps during the day and wakes up at like 6PM, makes us dinner, and then goes straight to work."

He was about to apologize again, but Lenalee cut him off.

"Ohh...I see," Lenalee said softly, sighing. She'd figured as much, or course. Then, the other thing Allen had said, finally registered in her mind, and she couldn't help but perk up a bit.

"You'll...invite me over for dinner? While Anita's there? Really?" Allen had never had her over to his house--not since they were small children, at least, and Lenalee could barely even remember those times. Her smile grew just a bit brighter. 'And Anita will be there...'

Allen let out a chuckle that sounded a little more strained than he'd like it.

"Um, well, I'll--have to ask her, because, um...my house is still kinda...off limits--y'know? Not that I _don't_ want to invite you over..." He held up his hands in defense, glad that he had finished eating his ice cream some time ago.

"Just...yeah. I think it'd be nicer if we could all go out and eat, and then maybe you could...stop by. Just for a bit." He didn't want to say 'because that guy is there', because--well--he didn't want to talk about him anymore. Anita would surely understand.

"I'll ask her tonight, if that helps?"

"Sure~" Lenalee agreed immediately, her mood having pulled a full one-eighty. "And....I might have kinda figured, about your house--you don't want me to meet him, right? Cross. That's what Anita said his name was."

She felt bad about bringing it up--almost, but not really--when she how the mere name made Allen flinch. But, she'd put it together. Allen's stuttering, 'Cr-' - and all the other times he'd cut himself off after that certain sound. His face--or rather, the stricken look on it--when Anita had mentioned that name. It all made sense. And you can _bet_ she'd be looking into it later.

Allen visibly cringed at that. He should have figured, even if she was happy, she'd pick up on something like that. He _had_ known her since forever, after all.

"Er, y-yeah that's...his name, but you...really don't want to meet him, if you can help it." He tried to smile, but it looked so weak he _had_ to drop it. And wonder what kind of face he had made when Anita had said that guys name--was it _really_ that obvious?

He sighed instead, though, and shook his head. "Um, but, we'll worry about that later, okay? We can still go to the arcade and get some games in before lunch period--wouldn't you rather do that?"

As fake as it sounded--_as fake_ as it sounded--it made him cringe, even, just a little bit. An action Lenalee was sure to pick up on, but he didn't want to turn and look, as he led her towards the one other alleyway they had to go through.

He just hoped Lenalee wouldn't look into it herself. He didn't think she'd like what she'd find.

Lenalee nodded, speed walking a bit to catch up to Allen, and linking their arms together once more. She would _definitely_ look into this later...and if she couldn't find anything herself, she was more than certain that Lavi could. He had his connections, as a Bookman, after all. And if he refused...then fuck it all, she would go to Allen's house, and find out herself.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, after that, not mentioning any of the things that both knew were now running through the other's head. Finally, they arrived, and Lenalee stopped Allen in front of the door.

"I'm sorry. ...For bringing it up, I mean. Let's just...forget about it all, today, okay?" She smiled warmly up at him.

Allen attempted yet another smile, and was glad when the result was a little better than the last one. "Yeah--no point in worrying about it now, right?"

Because hadn't they skipped school to have _fun_? It was an arcade! Arcades were meant to be fun! Not serious-

Speaking of which, as he pushed open the door to said arcade--was that music? And--it was...a little too crowded for this time of day.

...'Don't tell me'...he glanced at the register--no one was standing behind it, and--people started clapping, and there was a ridiculously loud and catchy music coming from the back, near where he was _sure_ the DDR machine was.

'Just great.'

He had two guesses as to who it would be, and, as he led Lenalee (who looked thoroughly confused, but interested all the same) towards the back--well, he hated being right, as he saw an all too familiar person--white hair, plastered to dark skin, moving fast with the beat of the music, like an erotic dance (he cringed), and--he felt sorry for the girl he was going up against.

She was losing. Badly.

And the crowd, as always, was cheering for Wisely.

Lenalee's eyes went wide with wonder--and a bit of confusion, as to why Allen looked so...so...exasperated--as she stared at the new stranger. Whoever he was...he kicked ass at DDR.

The Chinese girl felt the stirrings of competition in her gut--after all, she'd never been beaten, and she so _loved_ a good challenge--and she-

"Allen." She tugged on his sleeve, eyes not leaving the other white-haired young-man. "I want to VS him. Like...really badly. Who is he?"

"My-"

But before Allen could even get a full sentence out, the music stopped, and while the girl keeled over in exhaustion (how many rounds did she _do_?), Wisely, on the other hand, whipped around--like he _knew_ he was standing there--even though they were in the back of the crowd--and cried out the answer _for_ him.

"COUSIN~!!"

And immediately, people bolted to make room, and soon--soon Allen...had a problem. A problem attached to his middle, crushing him in a painful hug.

Lenalee took a step back--unlinking hers and Allen's arms--just a mere second before she would have been knocked down by...Allen's...cousin??

Wait, _what_?

"Allen..." she started, her eyes going almost comically wide in her shock. "This is...your...cousin..? You never told me you had a cousin..."

Allen let out a slightly pained laugh, petting Wisely's hair, just, well--to give his hands something to do.

"Well...I didn't really figure it out till recently. Thought he was ly-" He gasped as the arms around him tightened. "T-Too--ti-ght-"

"How could ya not think I'm your cousin?" Wisely whined into his chest, clearly drawing way too much attention, and Allen didn't like it. "Jerk."

He cringed. "I'm not--um--I'm sorry?"

As always, that seemed to work, and immediately the white haired teen (copycat) looked up and smiled.

"You'd better mean it now~ But anyways, what'cha doin' _here_? Aren't ya supposed to be in tha' prison cell of intellectual knowledge?" He glanced at Lenalee in the same motion.

"Oh? And who's the pretty chick? She obviously isn't yours, or else some-one would get ver-y ma-ad~"

Then he let out a laugh that was all too loud, like it was his own personal joke (and he _did_ say it a lot), before standing up and patting him on the head. "Cuz whoever you are, m'names Wisely~! An' lil' Allen here is my cousin, and I love 'im to death. Nice to meet you!"

And he smiled that stellar smile, and extended his hand towards Lenalee.

Who was obviously just a little more than stunned.

Lenalee could do no more than blink a few times, completely taken aback. Then, finally remembering her manners--as well as her resolve--she smiled back, and grasped his hand.

"No, Allen's...not my type," she denied, snickering. "He's my best friend. I'm Lenalee Lee. And--would you mind going against me? DDR, I mean. I've never lost once, and, well...you look like you know what the Hell you're doing. I like a good competition."

She stood there, beaming, as she waited for his answer.

Wisely raised an eyebrow at that, sizing her up in a way that was...actually appropriate. Allen sighed, mentally, but even _if_ it was appropriate, it still meant, well--he was sizing her up to see if she was an adequate challenge or not.

"Really now? Hm, now that's _my_ kind of challenge. Sure, let's give it go~" His smile turned a little sharp on the edges (some people whistling at that). "Though I will say, yes I _do_ know what the _Hell_ I'm doing."

Then he turned on his heels, and walked back to the machine--the girl he had gone up against stumbling off, and casting Lenalee a supportive smile-

These people might _be_ prostitutes, but to Hell if they acted like them after hours.

Lenalee's own smile turned into a ferocious grin--one that Allen actually _recognized_, because she'd always adopted that look when it came to any sort of competition--and followed Wisely over to the DDR machine.

She returned the girl's smile, and stepped up, glancing at the boy beside her. "So. What song do you want to do? I've done them all, so it doesn't matter to me."

Wisely took a moment to glance at the screen. "Hmm...how about "IKE IKE" by HINOI Team? On Extreme mode?" He flashed her another dazzling smile, and earned a nod in return, as he selected the song, mode, and the music began to play--high pitched and peppy, and Allen, well--he chose not to look at the screen too much because of how fast the little arrows were moving.

And yet again, Wisely wasn't even _looking_, or, he would, but then he wouldn't. Lenalee, meanwhile, would glance at the screen, but--it was just like him. Fluid, and...well, he couldn't help but smile a little.

Lenalee cast an absent-minded glance at Wisely...then had to do a double-take. Was--he--he was...not even looking!! The girl's eyes narrowed in concentration, and she picked up her act, _feeling_ the music flowing through her. She didn't look at her rival again, knowing it would only make her frustrated, and jeopardize her performance.

Finally, just over three minutes later, the song ended, and they both stepped down, neither one the least bit tired. Lenalee looked up--and couldn't stop the strangled cry of surprise that flew past her lips.

Wisely had...beat...her. By _two_ bloody points, no less! But--he--he _beat_ her! She spun around to face him, eyes wide in shock - and maybe a little bit of horror, too.

And Wisely could only smile, though not smugly (like he did often times), as he glanced at the screen, then cocked his head to the side when someone handed him a water bottle. "Wowie, you really _are_ good."

He took a sip of the water, before extending his hand out to Lenalee. "How the Hell did you hide from me for so long? I _love_ DDR~ Er, as a game of course, nothing more."

Lenalee nodded at him dumbly, and took a water-bottle that was given to her, absently opening it and taking a swig, smiling in thanks at the person, before turning back to Wisel--and Allen, who had finally joined them.

Wisely winked, then laughed, waving at various people in the crowd as they congratulated both him, and even Lenalee (looking at the girl with varying degrees of shock and awe), and soon, Allen was sure, the girl would notice, and that surprise at losing for once would die away and-

"So really, why're you two skippin' school anyway?"

And of course, Wisely would still want to talk. Allen sighed.

"We left school this morning to...take care of an issue with a friend," Lenalee sighed softly. "Then things got a bit out of hand, so we just...decided to stay away till lunch."

Wisely raised an eyebrow at that. "Skip till lunch? Sounds like what I used to do all the time--or, well, when the Fosters would let me." He let out a laugh, and took another long swig from the water bottle, before maneuvering back through the now dissipating crowd.

"Here, here, lemme get you some coins so you can play. Dun worry about paying--everyone else here insisted, so you guys get yours free~" A few of the girls giggled, and nodded their approval, before going off to the games they had been playing before (most, ironically, shoot 'em up games), while a few guys that had tagged along with them grumbled.

Allen didn't have to guess who had paid.

"Are you sure, though?"

Wisely simply grinned, and dumped out a bunch of coins, handing an equal amount to both, before leaning across the counter and saying, "Yessss, I'm sure. 'Sides...ya need it once in a while, y'know? I'll help you out any way I can."

He had said the last sentence lower, as if he didn't want anyone to hear, and, well...Allen had given up asking what his cousin meant by that. He had ever since he popped up on their doorstep, claiming to be his biological cousin. Something Cr--that guy--had tested, then doctors and, well--he learned to...just smile. Smile, and say, "Thank you."

Which he did, and dragged Lenalee away from the counter before she could ask, hoping she'd stay silent, though knowing even if she _did_, she'd still think it.

He pushed those thoughts away and instead asked, "Which games do you wanna play?"

Lenalee couldn't help but giggle, and shake her head. As Allen pulled her away, she sent a knowing look over her shoulder at Wisely, before turning back to her friend.

"Uhm...do they still have the machine with Final Fantasy VIII?" she asked hopefully. After all, she hadn't been here in a couple years, and--well, people aren't the only things that change over time, apparently. "That was always my favorite, so..."

Allen blinked and looked around. "I don't see why they _wouldn't_ have it--that's Anita's favorite, too."

Finally, he spotted it in the back. Thankfully no one was playing it, so he led Lenalee over to it. "I still don't get why you like this game so much...I don't really get it." He laughed, and watched as Lenalee's face turned slightly horrified.

"Y-you...Allen!!" she scolded. "How...how...sheeeeesh!!!!"

She turned her back on him them, setting up the game. "Yeah, so the battling system is a bit irritating, but _still_. It's a _classic_!!! And--and--Rinoa is _so hot_~!!" she squealed in an overtly fangirlish manner, loud enough that _everyone_ stopped to stare at her. She blinked, then, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Uhh...I mean...oh, to Hell with it."

Allen let out a soft chuckle at her sudden blush, and he could say he was slightly glad that she just went on talking as the others turned back around (they were used to it, he knew they were. Maybe Lenalee needed to hang out down here more--NO. Just. _No_). He shuddered at the thought, but ignored it and watched Lenalee play, and explain the rules--sadly, most of them going in one ear and out the other, and before he realized it (it was only him shifting his arm to rub his eye that he really even saw his watch), that--oh, well, okay--so they had like twenty minutes left...

Oh crap.

With seemingly impeccable timing, Lenalee let out a soft curse, and put the controller away. Turning to Allen, she shrugged, smiling hopelessly, and said, "You know, that boss gets me almost _every_ time. And--speaking of time--I assume we should probably start heading back now, right? I mean--it'll take a while to get back to the school..."

Allen swallowed, and nodded his head.

"Uh, yeah, a little while. We only have twenty minutes left." Almost--if not a little creepily--on cue, Wisely popped up _right_ behind him.

"You guys leaving so soon? What, do you _really_ have to go back to that prison cell for intellectual minds?"

Allen sighed, and shook his head. "Unfortunately, yeah, and it wouldn't _kill_ you to call it 'school'." But he already knew the answer he'd get--in a dramatic _gasp_, and clawing at his neck and--"Okay, Wisely--stop it."

"School is where people learn. Not stupid places like those prison cells for intellectuals," Wisely snapped. "Which I would drive you back to, cuz I'm so nice, but as you can see--I'm working--filling in someone _else's_ shift, who decided to get sick all over creation last night, _and_...I only have my Harley, an' that baby can't fit three people."

Unfortunately, Allen knew that. "Never said you had to."

Because he had been forced to ride on that thing _once_...and--he shuddered at the memory. "You really might die on that thing some day."

"But it's not some day yet, is it?"

And it almost nearly surprised him that Wisely could _act_ the way he did most of the time, but then, well--they _were_ cousins weren't they, and it...wasn't that hard...well--yeah sometimes, but-

"So yeah, you two get going." Wisely patted them both on the shoulder. "An' keep the coins--tha' way y'don't have to pay next time around~" Then he turned and sauntered back up to the cash register, smiling and talking to various other people, who were still stuck in front of game machines--even stopping to teach one of the slu--prostitutes how to shoot. He got a squeeze in the ass for that, and Lenalee saw--and _Lenalee saw_...

And grinned, mouth opening right when they stepped foot outside the store and--and-

"Well. He sure seems 'popular'," she commented, laughing. Then laughing even more, at Allen's slightly horrified face. "Though, I can see why. He's very nice, and...actually kinda cute, for a guy."

She paused, checking her watch quickly, and shrugging--then stepped forward, and they began their way back. "Though...what on Earth does he have against school? And what exactly is he referring to as 'school'...if it's not actual school?"

Allen paused for a moment, thinking that over. "Well...I don't really know much--I mean, I only met him a few months ago, and he doesn't even live with us." He glanced at Lenalee, who gave him a look that said 'continue', and, well--it wasn't like Wisely _cared_ who knew. He would spout his lives story if given the chance and the proper setting.

So, he continued on. "All I know is that his, um--he lived with a foster family that was very strict on education, and sent him to this really harsh school that--though it was public, was known for...turning out a bunch of students that went to, y'know, Harvard, and Yale--or overseas some place. I think you can imagine with his personality, that he absolutely hated a school like that."

He smiled then, looking down at the ground, only to look immediately back up again, given that they were closing in on the alleyway. And he didn't want to look down then.

Once they passed through, he continued again. "As for what he considers an actual 'school'...I'd guess...well, he's never been clear on that. But he's very for self-learning--it's, um, part of the reason I think he said he left when he graduated. Like--he did his own research an' stuff, and found _me_, obviously--yes he's my actual biological cousin, not Mana's--so..." He trailed off.

"Um, yeah--that's about all I know about him." He gave her a quick smile, and watched as the gears turned--it was easy to see in her eyes that she wanted to ask something else. He just wasn't sure _what_.

"...Why did you seem so--I don't know, horrified? When you saw he was working, I mean."

She wondered if this Wisely was another person that he hadn't wanted her to meet. But...he seemed nice enough, so... "What are you trying to hide from me now?"

She unconsciously let out a sigh of relief when they exited the alley--though she knew there would be another one soon--and unconsciously looked in the window as they passed the ice-cream shop, hoping to catch a glimpse of Anita...but to no such luck.

Allen thought over her question carefully. "Ah, well, it's not that I wanted to hide him...from you--he _is_ nice. An' we get along great, just...well, he can act...weird sometimes." He hoped that that was enough, even though he knew it wasn't.

"I didn't want him to scare you, y'know? I mean--well, he sorta did it when you were playing DDR...but..." He trailed off once more, and led her yet again through the next alleyway, grimacing as he noticed even more of that stuff on the other wall--and speeding up even more, until they reached the exit, and began walking back down the normal sidewalk (ignoring when a few passerby--dressed in nice fancy clothes--gave them weird looks. Since alleys usually meant promiscuous behavior--something that two teenagers would most likely take part in. He wanted to gag).

"Like...what?" Lenalee asked him, now extremely curious. When he didn't answer right away, she repeated asked again. "Well? What did he do?"

They continued to walk--Lenalee glancing up at Allen's face every few seconds, growing more and more impatient. If he didn't answer her soon... But then, finally-

"He can, well," he sighed. "It's hard to explain it, but...he's had this ability--first he said it and I didn't believe him, but--he's _extremely_ good at predicting things. They're random things, though, and usually really, really small--so he has to be careful, but...well, it's things like playing DDR, I guess. He doesn't have to look at the screen to _know_ what the next step will be."

He looked up at Lenalee, who was staring at him intently. "So...yeah...sometimes he can scare people with it--because he can sometimes see flashes of...bad things...like, um..." And then he paused. Because no. He wouldn't say that--sure most of the people there were prostitutes, and it happened a lot more than one cared to think--he didn't need to be relaying that information to Lenalee. Even if she wouldn't tell a soul, if Anita found out...

Lenalee's eyes had gradually widened bit-by-bit, just as her steps had slowed, with every word Allen spoke. If Wisely himself had told her this, she would never have believed him. But she believed Allen, and if he said it was true...

"Okay, so...bad things. Like...what? You started to say something, then stopped..." she trailed off, once again glancing up into her best friend's face. "Allen?"

Allen cringed mentally. Of course she'd ask. "I...mean, like--bad things like, y'know--he'd see me falling down the stairs because of Timcanpy lying on the top step, and me not seeing him. That sort of thing." He paused, noticing the small frown etched on her lips. "They...can be...worse though...like, seeing someone...get hurt...um..."

"Ohh..." Lenalee paused again, thinking all this new information over. "Well...what did he 'see' today, then? What did he tell you?"

She knew she was probably pushing it, but--she was a curious being by nature. And when something was _obviously_ bothering someone she cared a great deal about, then of course she was going to ask. "Allen? ...You can tell me anything, you know..."

"Not...today..." He paused, and then swallowed. "Just, um...you know what Anita's job is, right?" She nodded her head. "Well nothing happened to _her_ but...those who...also work...under her--at the same place she does--he sometimes sees them..._getting hurt_...and it usually goes unnoticed because...of who they are, and what their jobs are." And he hoped against hoped that that was all she needed to know to figure it out. Because he--didn't really--this _wasn't_ something that needed to be discussed now, even though theoretically he _had_ already...mentioned...it...

"Oh...ohhhhhh..._oh_." Suddenly, Lenalee's eyes widened, then she blinked. "That's...that's horrible... It shouldn't matter _what_ kind of occupation someone has--a person is a person!"

She was absolutely horrified, now. Yes, she _knew_ it happened, but--_hearing_ about it, so close to home...and first-hand, no less. To people her best friend _knew_. Or, at least, knew _of_...

Allen cringed again. "Isn't it? I...look up to him for that, definitely--and he's only been here a few _months_. Not like he gets anything for it either, y'know." He smiled a bit sadly. "But then he says he doesn't need to, and I mean--I agree. Those guys don't come back again either--heck, sometimes he can catch it _before_ it even...happens. I've seen him do it once."

And then, he caught himself and mentally cursed. He had just revealed he had been _in_ said brothel when it--well, great. He just hoped Lenalee didn't notice--but who was he kidding?

"You...you were there?" she asked, but her voice only held curiosity. No hostility, no shame, no disgust...nothing but simple curiosity. "What for? And is...does Wisely do what Anita does...?"

She hoped Allen would answer her this time. He _had_ been opening up more, throughout the day, but.... There were still some things, it seemed, that he just refused to tell her.

"I was visiting Anita."

It was obvious that was a lie, and it hurt that he had to but--"And...er, yes? He...won't tell me what he uses the money for but there _are_ male...members..." He coughed lightly, feeling his face flush ever so slightly. But it was Wisely, not him, and Wisely didn't care.

"And, um, he also has his two day jobs which he apparently uses on rent." Focus on Wisely, because Wisely was Wisely, and didn't care. "He works at the arcade--like he was today--but he also works at a pet shop. The one over by the mall, y'know?"

"Ahh, okay. Well, that makes sense--I never assumed there were only females in the trade. And Allen, you're a terrible liar. But...fine. I won't make you tell me this, if you really don't want to..." She sighed, and shook her head.

"Well...we're almost at the school, so we should probably change the subject now, huh? Not to mention, be on the lookout for teachers..."

Allen cringed again. Yup, she caught it.

"Sorry..." But he couldn't bring himself to actually feel the emotion--and maybe she looked a bit worried about dropping the subject then. But she _had_ been the one to change it, so--"I think we'll need to worry if we get a little closer."

They weren't yet in the neighborhood, but he could see it, and the trees. "We'd probably have to watch for the school police, though...since they patrol this area a lot."

He crossed the street easily, moving onto the sidewalk that led into the nicely rowed houses, with nicely tailored lawns, and they both heard, more than saw, two cars speeding past--obviously trying to skip out of school just like they had tried to.

Allen smiled--maybe the cars would be the focus, and not them. He could hope, right? Though he knew the chances were slim--his History teacher didn't like him much, and probably wrote him up as 'skipping'...and, well--_no_--remain positive! Remain-

But he could still feel Lenalee's eyes on the back of his head. And that wasn't positive at all.

"Allen...are you okay?" Lenalee piped up, having noticed the telltale tensing of his shoulders. He was probably just worried about getting caught, but...then again, Lenalee could understand that. If they called his home, then either Mana or that Cross guy would pick up...and she was now aware that neither of those options would work out too well. Mana would undoubtedly worry, which would jeopardize his health, and Cross--well--yeah.

They were almost at the school now, and Lenalee slowed down, grabbing onto Allen's sleeve when he didn't do so as well. "We...should probably think of an excuse--just in case we _are_ caught, you know...?"

Allen snapped back to attention when he felt Lenalee's hand grab at his sleeve. "An...excuse?" She nodded her head.

"Well...um...I--Ma-Cro--...er...I _did_ get a call about Mana, but, um, I'm--I'm not sure...how much good...and I don't really want to tell them, um..." He fidgeted--damnit he was making his _own_ situation worse, and now Lenalee was giving him that _look_ again. Probably for a different reason, so--"What...about...you?"

"Oh...well, uhm...I'll just say it was a family emergency... They know how my brother is--he's randomly pulled me out of class many times in the past, so..." she trailed off. It probably wouldn't work, but then...it was all she had to go on. She let go of Allen's sleeve, and they continued walking. Almost there…

They made it to the trees, and they walked along the river, mostly in silence, and they could see the gate--the park--the gate, and then the field, but--

He mentally cringed when he heard a teacher talking very loudly on a walky-talky.

Then they turned, and--_crap_.

"So _this_ is where the two little f-tards went." The man grinned--widely, and--did it _have_ to be _that_ man? Did it? Really? Lenalee cringed next to him.

"Well, well--what'd you two do for the last f*ing two classes, eh?" The man came closer, grinning all the wider. "Have a nice lil' romp in the forest, or what?" He gave them both a scathing look--one that Allen had grown used to, but that Lenalee paled from, just a little bit.

"Well, who gives a fuck? Oh, wait, not s'posed to curse around the young 'uns." He eyed them both again, before laughing.

"_Well_, not that it matters much, 'cuz I--Winters Sokaro, have found ya--and do ya both know where you're headed?" Not that he'd let them answer that, either. "The _Principal's_ office, tha's right. Where you'll f*ing wait, until-"

He was cut off, rather rudely, by the walky-talky.

/Have you found them yet, Winters?/ a bored voice asked over the end of the line.

"Fuck yeah, I did."

/Then _why_ are you still out there?/

"Don't tell me what the f* to do, motherf*er," the dark man ground out, making Lenalee cringe again.

/My mother's dead. Too bad, try again./ Before Sokaro could say another word, the voice cut him off. /Now bring them back to the office, and do your job./

Then, just like that, the other end clicked off, leaving Allen wondering exactly _who_ that was, and--how much trouble they had to be in, for the PE teacher to come looking for them.

Oh wait. He probably didn't want to know.

Lenalee grimaced, and visibly flinched back from the man. She hated Sokaro...with a flaming passion. But she was _not_ afraid of him, damnit!! And no, that was not denial. Casting Allen a hopeless glance, she spoke up--rather meekly--"Well...let's go, then...?"

They turned, and silently followed Sokaro back to the office, both ignoring the man's tirade. At least the principal was a _bit_ nicer than the overly asshole-ish PE teacher...but still, she had to keep her hopes up that they wouldn't be in _too_ much trouble...

As they entered into the set of offices that he had never really visited before, Allen knew this wouldn't be good. If the churning in his stomach was of any indication, and--wait, was that...Kanda?--it _was_--and...he was talking with one of the secretaries (or she was talking to him).

He quickly turned his head away, but he had already seen them. Crap, crap, crap...Lenalee didn't seem to notice him, though--instead she was looking embarrassed with herself. He assumed she'd been here even less than he had been but--

Sokaro rather rudely kicked one of the doors open, and soon they were being herded onto a couch that smelled really bad, and was made by that kind of really cheap leather Cr--that guy kept complaining about.

There, sitting at the desk was Yeegar, looking slightly startled by the rude introduction.

"Here's the little f--" the man next to Yeegar (a man that didn't look much older than 25) shot him a glare--"Brats," Sokaro quickly corrected. "I'll be out in the f--hall...right..." And then he bowed out, quickly, like a stuffy little room was _not_ on his list for fun places to be.

Allen was almost relieved, until the Principal spoke up.

"Do you know you missed three of your classes?" Yeegar wondered, eyeing both of them. "Now--I don't know what excuse you'll come up with, nor do I want to hear it--but I _do_ want you to know you should know better."

Allen cringed at the message. Yeegar _might_ be a good principal, but it was easy to see he wanted to know what they came up with. He shot Lenalee a look.

Lenalee--finally faced with the reality of it all--decided on...the actual truth.

"Well...we _did_ come up with excuses, but...I think the truth would be best. One of our best friends has been acting really weird lately, and we've been worried. So, when I saw him leave the school without saying anything, I figured something was wrong with him. I told Allen, and then I dragged him off with me--it _really_ wasn't his fault, Sir--and we called our friend. It took a while, but he finally answered the phone, and told us what was going on. Though, I'm still a bit worried... And, I guess...we just decided to stay out till lunch, because by the time we were off the phone, it was already near the end of 3rd period, and neither of us felt that our 4th period classes were very important... I'm sorry, Sir."

Yeegar raised an eyebrow at that, and looked over at Madarao, before looking back at them. "Really now? And...the reason you felt you needed to make this phone call off the campus is because?"

Lenalee opened her mouth to answer, but Allen cut her off--it was a trick question, he knew it.

"We did try, but we didn't get any signal, so we went outside, and to the park first, we had to move though because um, well, you can understand can't you? It was...personal. And we didn't want to get caught."

The man standing in the corner coughed lightly. "Really now?" Allen nodded his head. "And the reason you didn't come to the office to tell us of your friend is because...?"

Yeegar held up his hand before the man could answer.

"It's fine. You did what you thought was best--yes. But you _still_ left three of your classes. We cannot just let this slip by unnoticed, even though we generally don't have any issues with either of you." His eyes traveled from Lenalee to Allen, and he let out another sigh. "It's almost lunch period for the both of you, isn't it? Why don't you go eat, and then come back?"

Allen's eyes widened, and so did Lenalee's.

"You'll let them do that, sir?" The policeman seemed shocked.

"But of course--they're just children, after all. They need food to grow, and you probably are hungry--so go. I will send an email to your homeroom teachers, telling them where you'll be."

Well, that wasn't good, but...at least they wouldn't be marked off for being late. Allen sighed. "Yes sir, and thank you."

With that, they both stood from the impossibly fake-leathered couch (wait, what?), and stepped through the door, out into the small office area. They walked through there, and soon found themselves in the lobby.

Before they could even take a step, a familiar voice made them stop.

"Care to fucking explain?"

Allen cringed, as the BaKanda stepped out from where he had been hiding.

Great. Just great.

Lenalee sighed, and gave Allen 'the Look', before making eye contact with Kanda. "Come on, we'll talk elsewhere."

Not waiting to give him a chance to respond, she turned on her heel, and made her way to the cafeteria, leaving the two boys to follow after her. Once they'd stood in line, gotten their food, and found their usual table--minus one rabbit--she began to talk.

"I saw Lavi leave earlier, through my classroom window. Some guy picked him up in this really rad car, and they sped off. I was worried--and, well, pissed off--because he never said anything to me about it. So as soon as class was out, I grabbed Allen, and we went out to the woods, and called Lavi. Then we figured we'd just stay out till lunch, because there were only a few minutes left of third period anyway."

Kanda knew some serious shit had happened, when he saw _Lenalee_ (not the Moyashi) being led into the Principals office. Something had happen--and, well--he wanted in on it. _Now_. And from the looks on their faces, it was something he--well--he-

He sighed. "The fucking rabbit started this?" He looked between them, and they both looked at each other--a whole entire conversation in just one fucking look--before looking back.

"Yeah," Allen answered easily enough, but there was something in his voice that...sounded odd. Not that Kanda paid much attention to the guy's voice, but--it was in Lenalee's too, and--well--if they thought they could hide it then, hah.

"But that's not it," he said, matter-of-factly--making both of them cringe.

"No, i-it's not...but..." Lenalee hesitated, trying to get back into 'character'. "Wait...Kanda-kun, aren't you worried about Lavi? He was acting strange, and then he left with a guy none of us knows..."

She knew Kanda cared about Lavi. Even if it _wasn't_ obvious--to her, anyways--Lavi still _told_ her things. And you can bet he'd told her about 'The Hicky'.

Kanda che'd.

"What's there to worry about? You actually think he'd get himself into a situation he can't get _out_ of?" He raised an eyebrow at Lenalee's slightly shocked expression. "Che, besides that--staying out of class 'just because'? Is that the best excuse you _have_?"

He took an indignant bite of his soba noodles, staring at them both incredulously--did they really think he didn't know a _thing_?

"W-well...I guess you have a point there, Kanda-kun... But, just the fact that he didn't _tell_ me..." She cut herself off. Kanda didn't _know_ that she and Lavi talked about...things. And he probably didn't know about the Bookman-thing, either. "But...well, we--Allen and myself, that is--got to talking, after...about some important stuff...and we just lost track of time. Then, since by then we only had one class left each--minor ones--we decided to go hang out at the arcade till lunch. That...was all..."

Kanda raised his eyebrow at that. "Really. About what?"

He could tell from her expression that she was _trying_ not to...say something. Or many things. But then, he wasn't either, and Allen was staying collectively silent--something he was thankful for, for once. It's like he understood, but then...he did, didn't he? Kanda felt his lips twitch.

"About what?" he repeated, when the girl shifted in her seat. Like she thought she was hiding anything. Hah.

"I--just--stuff." She couldn't look at Kanda--not while she was lying, anyways. Then, after she realized he wasn't about to give in, she sighed heavily, dejectedly...and gave up.

Looking back into his eyes, she muttered, "About how we've changed, Kanda."

She left the suffix off of his name, because, well--she really didn't need it anymore. And also, maybe to make a bit of a point. "Neither of us...have really been open with each other. Not in a very long time. And me, I haven't been open to any of you, except Lavi, because--well, I can't give _his_ secrets away, but I _can_ say it's because he understands, and he knows what it's like. I needed to tell Allen; because he saw the way I was acting, when Lavi left. Lavi tells me _everything_, but I didn't even know this 'Tyki' guy's _name_ when I saw him leave with Lavi. And I only know now, because-" She cut herself off again. Kanda did _not_ need to know about that.

Kanda cocked his head ever so slightly to the side, carefully digesting the information. Well. Then. He didn't know anything. "Did this guy have curly hair, dark skin? Look very high class?"

"Ah-" Lenalee's eyes widened in shock. Kanda knew him? Kanda _knew_ him, and she _didn't_??? "Ah...yes...he did. I think...he was Portuguese? Or maybe Spanish... I didn't get a close enough look, but--yes. That's him. Wait--how do _you_ know him, Kanda?"

Kanda let out a sigh. "It's the same guy, then. Lavi doesn't just hang out with you, you know." His eyes narrowed. "And if he is the same guy, then I already assume you found out _why_ he didn't tell you about...him...immediately."

His scowl deepened slightly as he glanced at Walker. "Don't act so fucking shocked," and he glanced between them, "we all keep secrets. It depends on how you deal with them. Fucking brilliant, isn't it?"

Not that either of them would get what he meant by that--Hell, even he didn't know.

"Uhm...well, yeah..." Lenalee admitted, shifting her gaze to Allen. Kanda liked Lavi...and if he didn't know what she did--if he was thinking of something _else_--then she was about to make a huge mistake. "Well...there's something going on between them. I don't know if they're dating, but...it's a physical relationship, at least. _Very_ physical, apparently, if Tyki was even touching him while he was on the bloody _phone_..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at that. Though it had been funny as Hell, it was still unfair--on Lavi's part, of course.

Kanda let out yet another sigh, grumbling, "At least you didn't see it," before standing up, and picking up his tray--but before he moved away from the table, not even caring that he had probably just given them both whiplash with how fast they turned to look at him.

Yes, Lavi had been afraid quite a few nights to go back to 'Gramps'. _So yes_, of course that man had dropped him off at his place instead. Which included the groping on the car. Outside the car.

And no, it hadn't hurt. Not one bit.

**xoxox**

_**Author's Note: **__ And here's yet another chapter done and done (is it sad that I had to go back and re-read it cuz it's been so long since we typed it up?....Probably). _

_But regardless! Please drop us a review! Have Questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? Send it via review! We'd love to hear from you~ (that wasn't supposed to rhyme. I swear). _

_*goes back to eating Hershey's kisses*_


	4. Introduction

_**Author's Note:**__ Okay, first off--yes, we know this chapter is three days late. That is my (Tofu-Master) fault alone, and for that, I am sorry. It was a busy weekend, and some stuff happened that needed to be dealt with, but...yeah. Also, the document still needed to be sent to Harmony for input and, and approval. Hopefully, this will teach me __**not**__ to leave editing till literally the last minute? (Or last day, but hey--it still amounts to the same thing, right? ). In fact, I think I'mma get to work on chapter five later on tomorrow (seeing as tomorrow's only about...five minutes away, where I am...).  
So yeah. Sorry for the wait--really. And you guys are all welcome to kill me--but not until __**after**__ you see...that this chapter is roughly ten pages longer than average. So--it's worth it, ne? Ne? D_

_**Disclaimer:**__ We do not own G Gray-Man, sadly. And--even more sadly, this disclaimer had been typed at 6am__, and I was too tired to think of something witty. And now--I'm too lazy to change it. So this boring old thing will have to do, ne? -sarcastically blows on one of those awesome party-whistle things--yeah, those ones. The ones that annoy the living shit out of everybody, except the person __**using**__ them-_

_**Warnings for This Chapter: **__Uhm...Sheryl. o.o Just--Sheryl. That in and of itself should be warning enough, right? Now, what else...? Oh yes. Tyki's driving, severe exaggeration, angry/jealous secretaries, molestation of underage individuals, SCONES O_O, questions being asked in an interview that--really shouldn't be asked in an interview, water-bottles being throw at supposedly unsuspecting heads, inappropriate usage of the Portuguese language (but it makes us lawl, so), underage drinking, Kanda's vocabulary, drunken babbling, and...a hand-job. __*Q*_

**Chapter Four  
"****Introduction"**

When they both got back into Tyki's car, Lavi's head had almost completely stopped pounding. He was thankful for that, as he was sure the anxiety he was now feeling would have only made his headache worse. He looked over at the Portuguese man in the seat beside him, and smiled nervously.

"So...on a scale from one-to-ten, how screwed am I?" he asked. Of course, he didn't mean that in the 'literal' sense, but one never knew how a man such as Tyki would interpret it.

Tyki raised an eyebrow, nearly certain that the boy hadn't meant to...phrase it quite like he had. "Hm...well, it depends on if he takes a liking to you--which I assure you he will. Right now I'll set it at seven--assuming ten is the biggest threat. Now if he makes me leave then we'll turn it up to eleven."

He started the engine, and soon they found themselves speeding along the streets--Lavi clinging to the edges of the passenger seat--eyes wide in fright-

And, well, one would always say 'Shouldn't you delay the inevitable'--well, for Tyki it was more like 'Why delay when you can just get it over with?' Or at least...in this case, because the situation would be disastrous if they _were_ late...

He just hoped his brother wouldn't show interest. Hoped against hope, even though he knew he _would_.

"Oh...uhm, well--okay then," Lavi mumbled, his response rather meek. So...if Sheryl asked--or most likely, told--Tyki to leave...then--"Well...could you just--I'unno, say _'no'_?"

If this guy was as...touchy-feely as Tyki had said he was, then Lavi wasn't too sure he wanted to be left alone with him...for _any_ period of time, no matter how short.

Tyki let out a sigh, slamming on his breaks as they swerved around a corner. "Quite honestly, I would _love_ to say--I could say 'no' that easily. But," he let out another sigh, "I suppose you'll see when you get there."

He cast a glance at Lavi, who paled even more. "Don't worry though, I will _try_ and remain close by no matter what."

Like that was any small comfort, and he knew it wasn't...he shuddered inwardly at the thought. At the thought of his brother running his hands down Lavi's sides, stomach, rubbing his shoulders--flirting-

It wasn't a pleasant image, at all. It nearly made him run a red light--make that _did_, and change one to two--but the building was right there, so it wasn't like they would get _caught_. Of course. He'd just scare Lavi shitless, that's all.

Lavi shivered, and all but fell out of the car as he pushed the door open. Straightening up to stand on shaky legs, he looked back over at Tyki with a slight grimace.

"Y'know...ya _really_ gotta fix that habit...before you kill me, right?" He laughed then, shaking his head. "Well...we might as well go in, huh? I'll follow you. Like--right behind you. You're safe..."

Saying he was nervous was a huge understatement. The boy was quite nearly petrified! But...as long as Tyki was with him, he knew he'd be fine. The thing was...he needed to somehow _keep_ Tyki with him.

Tyki watched as the boy practically glued himself to his side, never being more than a few footsteps behind him at any given point--and each time they passed by a group of people that he knew (or that he knew because of when he used to live with brother dearest and they...um...yeah), Lavi would just press closer, until they finally stepped out of the elevator onto the 24th floor (really 18th, not counting the ones beneath the ground floor).

And almost _immediately_, he was pulled into a very strong hug, with a voice ringing too loudly in his ears, "Brother~ It's been such a long time since I've seen you at the office!"

He tried to extract himself, but it didn't quite work--though thankfully the man did it for him a moment later.

"You really _should_ visit more often."

"But I did," Tyki deadpanned. "Just yesterday--brother." He felt Lavi stiffen next to him, with a sharp intake of breath, and before he realized it, he was moving to the side (which was by no will of his own, mind you) and Sheryl was there, standing right where he had been--in front of the redhead.

"And you must be Lavi?"

Lavi gulped, his eyes traveling up from the man's chest--which was _much_ too close to his face--to the man's own face. His...really, really /hot/ face. The teen's eyes widened slightly, and much to his utter dismay and horrification--he blushed.

"Uhm..." He coughed, then continued. "Yes. Yes, I am."

Why? _Why_ did all the supposed 'sexual predators' _he_ knew, have to be so Goddamn...sexy?? It wasn't fair. It just made them harder to resist. Damnit.

Sheryl cocked his head to the side and smirked. That wasn't a good smirk--Tyki had _seen_ that smirk before, and knew it couldn't lead to anything good, but before he could open his mouth to say a word, Sheryl cut him off.

"Tokusa, could you give Tyki those papers I need him to sign...that he failed to, because he left the office so early?"

Immediately, Tokusa (what position the man actually _filled_, Tyki didn't want to know) stepped out from behind the desk, a folder of papers in his hands as he sauntered over to them, glancing warily at Lavi before slapping the folder against his chest.

"You really _should_ learn to do your work more efficiently, Tyki," the blonde remarked teasingly, though not in a hostile manner--and poked the man's stomach. "Try to be more responsible--like your brother, maybe?"

He laughed, then turned, smiling softly at Sheryl, and casting another cautious-yet-curious glance at the redheaded newcomer, before he walked back to his desk--now ignoring the three completely.

Sheryl smiled equally as softly back at the man, and Tyki felt himself grimace. "Ah--right...work. Yes. Brother, do I have-"

"Yes, you have to do it now. Shoo, shoo--you haven't been in the office for _days_, people think you've _died_."

"But I haven't-"

Sheryl shot him a look, and his mouth snapped shut. "Good~ Now go do your work. You may be my brother, but I have every means possible _to_ fire you if you don't do the required work, and then we'll have to move back in together--which wouldn't be so bad--it was so much _fun_, wasn't it~?"

_No it wasn't_. Definitely not.

"Not particularly." The man looked hurt. "But I don't have to go to my office, do I?"

"Well, you certainly can't do it in _here_."

"You can do many things in an office." Oh, wait that sounded wrong. "But it's meant for paper work."

"But I don't have any extra pens."

Tyki blinked.

"Ah--and--and--the research material is on your desk, you know? I made Tokusa," the man looked up briefly, "deliver it there earlier. So you really have no choice~" He made a waving motion with his hands, and before Tyki could quite comprehend exactly what was going on, he was being pushed out by two nameless bodyguards (he had...bodyguards? Since _when_?), and Lavi, well--the last glance he had of the poor boy, was one of absolutely horrified shock.

Well. That hadn't gone well. If the telltale blush on the boy's cheeks was anything to go by either.

After getting over the initial shock of being separated from Tyki, Lavi forced his heart to stop beating _so damn fast_, and turned a blank stare on Sheryl.

"...Your brother warned me about you, y'know," he remarked absently, as if none of this was really a big deal at all--but it was. Because Sheryl was coming closer. And suddenly the blank expression on Lavi's face broke--only for a moment--to show his paranoia.

Tokusa looked up briefly from his work, giving Lavi a pitying shrug, before glaring disapprovingly at the back of his boss' head. Oh for Hell--Sheryl would _never_ learn, would he?

Sheryl smirked at the boy's reaction, but quickly wiped it off his face for a carefully tailored hurt expression. "Oh? He _warned_ you, did he? What could dear brother have to say about _me_, that could _possibly_ be bad?"

The boy stiffened when he leaned down closer --he could see the flash of paranoia in his lone green eye. "Now come on, we've only just met, and--I'm being terribly rude, aren't I?" He quickly swiveled on his heel to face the opposite direction. "Now, now, come with me--I have some tea and scones freshly made in my office, which is just this small room over here. Why don't you join me in eating them? Then we can get straight to business~"

"Well...to make a long story short, he said you were a terrible pervert, and that I should be careful around you," Lavi replied seemingly indifferently, rather calm now that the man's back was facing him. He followed Sheryl to the indicated room--walking at the same pace, so as to keep the distance between them from changing. "Oh, and--that depends on just what you mean by 'business', I suppose."

"It depends on what you think I mean by 'business'," Sheryl hummed, casting a warning glance to Tokusa who looked slightly amused by the whole situation, before holding the door open for the redhead to come in. It was slightly amusing, as well, how the boy tensed as he walked right by him.

"But honestly--you're here because you are a Bookman's apprentice...though..." He appraised the boy, eyes sliding up and down--hm, red hair, firm build, nice ass (his lips twitched at that), and he was blind on his right side. Perfect.

He moved around to the boy's right, and touched his shoulder lightly. "Now here," he let go for only a moment, to grab one of the delicious scones, "try one~"

Lavi flinched the second Sheryl's hand made contact with his shoulder. Damnit...it was the old 'take advantage of the blind kid' trick. Oh well...he should have expected it, in all honestly. He held a hand up in rejection of the scone. "It's okay...I'll grab my own, thanks. I don't know where your hands have been."

Then, the man's words finally caught up to his ears. "Uhm...what exactly were you getting at with 'though'...?" He turned to face Sheryl--keeping the man on his left side--and watched him warily.

Sheryl frowned slightly at the boy's rejection. "Goodness, I have no idea where you thought my hands have been--but I can _assure_ you, they're clean." He patted the boy's shoulder, then. "As for 'though'," he pondered the thought, tapping his fingers lightly on the boy's shoulder, before drawing random patterns there--oh, was that a shiver? "Hm, well, I suppose I _am_ curious about you myself. You're so...young..."

"I'm almost nineteen, yeah," Lavi admitted, nodding. Honestly, if Tyki hadn't...demonstrated the 'awkward touching' thing for him...he would probably be having a nervous breakdown right now. An obvious one. He shook his head, and grabbed a scone, taking a small bite. As it was...he was just trying to ignore Sheryl's advances.

'But you don't want to~' that annoying voice in his head told him. Inwardly, he told it to shut the fuck up. Outwardly, he blushed...because he knew it was right. At least, partially. However creepy, the man was _highly_ attractive.

"So...what exactly are you 'curious' about, then?"

Sheryl hummed lightly, taking a bite of his own scone, before putting it down and tapping the boy's shoulder again--giving it a squeeze a moment later. "_Well_, just...I suppose, tell me about yourself--treat this like an interview. After all, it's good for business associates to be on common ground, don't you think?" He gave off what he hoped was a dazzling smile, and apparently it _worked_. Goodness, usually he scared people by now...why wasn't this boy scared? Should he be thanking Tyki for it, or?

"Uhm...well--in an 'interview', doesn't it usually go that the interviewer asks the other questions?" he asked smartly. He'd never been good at just 'telling about himself'. It was...well, awkward. "I mean...I don't know what sort of stuff you want to know about me...though, I can imagine..." The last part was muttered quietly, of course.

He took a small step back, then, and looked up at Sheryl with a half-hearted glare. "Must you...really be so touchy?"

Sheryl hummed at that. "Touchy? Oh, I'm always like this, terribly sorry." Not that he'd stop. Of course, it was much too fun--did the boy even know he was blushing?--Oh, and look what running his hand down the boy's arm did~!

'Now, now, Sheryl, don't get too excited~' he mentally scolded himself, taking another bite out of his scone. "Hum, well--do you honestly _want_ me to ask the questions?" He moved to the desk and leaned against it, smirking at the redhead. "Because quite honestly, most people _don't_."

And goodness, he was blushing again. So amusing. So...endearing--was this the boy that his dear brother had shown such keen interest in?

Lavi nodded, his blush having deepened slightly. "Yeah, I want you to ask the questions. It'd be Hella easier than trying to relay a last-minute biography of my life to you, without any prompts."

Moving away from Sheryl, he took a seat in one of the chairs, and bit another small chunk out of his scone. He allowed himself to relax a bit, sighing softly. Then, looking up at Sheryl once again, he prodded, "Well?"

Sheryl watched as the boy sat, and hummed. "Well, I suppose we can start with the usual--name, age, date of birth. You may lie if you like--after all, you _are_ a Bookman's apprentice."

And it seemed so utterly amusing the look on the boy's face at that--shocked, confused, embarrassed--"Goodness, you didn't think I knew you were an outright liar?" He pushed himself away from the table, and sauntered over to the boy, who was sitting.

"Who do you take me for, hmm?" And he waited, point blank (nearly. Close enough.) in front of the flustered boy, watching his face and soon his ears tinge red--for the answer to his question.

Lavi coughed lightly, and averted his gaze. "Well, y'know...I'm...actually _not_ as good an 'Apprentice' as Gramps woulda liked. I...break rules--a lot of them. And maybe he doesn't even know, but if he does, he doesn't say anything... In any case, what I'm getting at is--I _don't_ lie. Ususally. Not unless I absolutely hafta. So--any questions you have for me, I'll try to answer as honestly as I can. Okay?"

Then, letting out a soft sigh, "My name is Lavi--as you know--and I don't have a fuckin' clue what my last name is, if I even had one to begin with. Panda-jiji won't tell me, because he says it doesn't matter. I'm eighteen now, but I'll be turning nineteen on August 10th. ...Anything else? I'm sure that's not all you're interested in."

Sheryl blinked, slightly surprised by the boy's words. "Oh? Hm, naughty apprentice, then." Even though now wasn't the time to be...joking. "Well then, since you won't lie--and that's a _very_ good thing, by the way."

He patted the boy's knee before sitting down, roughly, next to him. "I suppose I'll ask...what do you believe your strengths/weaknesses are? What are your motivations, favorite subjects in school, things that bore you to no end..." He waved his hand in a vague motion, before giving the boy another smile--one, he caught himself at the last minute--that wasn't...quite as creepy as he wanted it to be. But, ah, well...he didn't need to be creepy _all_ the time, did he? Even if it was fun...

Lavi couldn't help but blush...again. He was really getting sick of that...and he was _sure_ Sheryl had noticed. And so-

"Well...I guess one 'weakness' that you've probably picked up on already, is that I blush...a lot... I'm easily embarrassed, so...yeah. I suck horrendously at sports, but that's probably because I have really bad depth perception--my eye, obviously, or lack thereof... Uhm--I...have slight authority issues, which is probably why I go and break so many of the rules Bookman lays down for me--some worse than others." He caught Sheryl raising an eyebrow at this, and inwardly cursed himself. "My strengths...I'm really smart, so I'm in all IB-classes--not to brag, but it's the truth. I'm outgoing, laid back, and people seem to like me...?"

He laughed at this. He really didn't understand _why_ people seemed to like him so much, especially when he didn't really _try_ to make friends. He had too many already, as it were--at least, that was what Bookman thought. "My favorite subject in school...would...probably be Psychology. It fascinates me. On the other hand, I don't actually care for Drama too much...I already have to act every day as it is. Math is boring as fuck, though. I can't stand it. And chick-flicks. Holy-Hell, they are _beyond_ unentertaining. I mean--really? Do people _actually_ believe that stuff?" He made a disgusted face, and shook his head.

"As for my motivations... I left this one for last, because--honestly? I really can't say I'm quite sure anymore."

Well, that was certainly...enlightening. "What kind of rules...do you break? We might...need to watch that, depending on what they are." Sheryl cocked his head to the side when the boy's blush darkened ten-fold. "And yes, the blushing. Hm, it makes you look adorable though~"

"So I wouldn't worry about it. As for being social, as you were already told by brother-dearest, I tend to...freak people out more often than not, thus Tyki or Tokusa--my personal secretary--are in charge of dealing with the people. Neither of which are very social, themselves. So it will be good working with you~"

He thought over what he just said. "Hm, now any other questions...? _Ah_! I know--what was the most amazing place you had ever been to? I assume you, at least used to, travel a lot as a Bookman? Also...any friends you're close to, that sort of thing--and why of course." He flashed another smile that turned out a little less creepy, and waited for this round of answers.

Lavi could have kicked himself, when he felt the heat rise and spread across his cheeks, fueling a blush that--he knew--would not fade for quite a while. Especially not once he answered this particular question. Sighing heavily, and turning his face away, he did just that.

"Well--I'm sure you know how a Bookman ain't supposed to have any...'relationships'...right?" he asked hesitantly. "Well...I do. A lot. If they can even be _called_ relationships, but...stuff...happens...that Bookman'd kill me if he knew I did..." Lavi flinched at the mere thought of it.

"As for...places? I like them all the same, but, uhm..." It was quite apparent the boy was flustered. "I guess--I liked Italy the best? It really stood apart, anyways..."

"And my 'friends'...well--there's Yuu-chan...an', uhm--not gunna get into that... Allen and Lenalee... I talk to Lenalee, because I can relate to her, in ways I can't with anyone else. And Tyki... But really, that's...it."

Sheryl hummed. "Well...relationships--no matter of what kind--are needed to survive, as they say. Though yes," he let out a sigh, shutting his eyes for a moment, "I might not know the man as well as you--but I wouldn't doubt the repercussions for it." Then his lips twitched upward.

"But enough of this serious conversation~ Let's get onto the interesting questions now!" He clapped his hands, and scooted even closer to the redhead. "So~ I can tell from looking at you, you're a virgin, aren't you? Haven't been knocked up, hmm~?"

"W-whaaaa-!?" Lavi sputtered, eye widening considerably, as the shade of his cheeks rose even higher, to match the bright color of his hair. "What--what kinda question is _that_??"

Seeing as Sheryl's smile only widened at that, Lavi was forced to realize that the man seriously expected an answer. He sighed, and mumbled, "Yeah, I am. I mean...I could have, but--I've never quite gone _that_ far--though he offered..." He trailed off near the end, his voice growing quieter with each word.

"He?" Immediately the boy cringed, and scooted away, like Sheryl was going to _do_ anything--goodness! "I won't do anything to you, if that's what you're wondering." Not now, anyway. "But _who_ is this _he_? Wouldn't happen to be brother dearest, would it? Oh dear."

Because if it _was_ then--then--"I might have to speak with him later." And even though he said he wouldn't do anything, he still found his hands traveling to the boy's body, brushing his leg, then hip--the redhead was practically frozen in place.

'_Oooh, my_' he let out a sigh and stood up, extending a hand to Lavi. "Well, I suppose that's enough for the questions...why don't I show you around the building now~? We can pick Tyki up, and then maybe--hm--it's still quite a bit early for dinner now--it's only four o'clock in the afternoon--but who knows? I'm sure we have _much_ more to discuss about, and over a meal would be _lovely_ don't you think?"

He still kept his hand extended there, though, towards the boy. After all, wouldn't it be interesting if the boy _took it_?

"Uh...yeah, actually... It _was_ Tyki," he admitted quietly, blushing now more than ever. Wait...why had he admitted that? Why??? Oh well...it was too late now. He could only hope Sheryl wouldn't be making _too_ much of a big deal out of it--or could he even do that? "But, uhm--I guess, yeah, dinner sounds fine...as does showing me around?"

He sighed, averting his eyes to the side, and looking back--taking Sheryl's hand after a few moments' hesitation.

Sheryl felt his lips twitch into a smile as the boy grasped his hand--hesitantly, but he still did. Something no one else had done before. 'Interesting...' He didn't even let go until they reached the door, and only then it was because--oh lo and behold-

It was Tokusa, looking very much _peeved_. "Ah, what's the matter, Toku-chan?" Though he had a distinct feeling he already knew, because he could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the door--one of which sounded faintly like his dear brother.

Tokusa spun around to glare at his boss. "You're a filthy pervert, _that's_ what!" he snapped, huffing. "And I'm a twenty-one-year-old man, Sheryl! There's no need to put 'chan' on my name. It's degrading."

Lavi couldn't help but snicker, slightly--earning him a rather frustrated look from the blonde, after which he promptly shut himself up.

Sheryl blinked and guffawed. "But--you're my _cute_ little Guppy~ Of course you deserve a '-chan' on the end of your name! It's a term of endearment~" And he was pretty sure the man was glaring death at him, so he hurried on his way. "But yes, of course, busy things to do, yes--yes indeed...come along now, Lovey--that's what Tyki calls you, isn't it? I hope you don't mind it--the building can't come to us, we must go to it~"

When really, he just wanted to get out of the room. Now. As quickly as possible.

"I. Am not. A _guppy_!!!!" Tokusa barked after them, throwing his half-empty water-bottle, which--with good aim--bounced right off the top of Sheryl's head. Curiously enough, he didn't bother to object to the 'my' part of the statement.

Lavi would have laughed at the man's unfortunate situation, but he himself was currently too disgruntled to do so. "I--_yes_, I mind it!" he snapped, flustered. As they got closer, he saw Tyki, arguing with a few of the guards. Now why would he be--?

Breaking off from Sheryl, the redhead ran over to Tyki, latching onto the man's arm, and asked, "What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be w-o-r-k-i-n-g?"

Tyki glanced down at the redhead currently attached to his arm. "Ah--well--yes, I was...about to but..." he trailed off, shooting a glare at Sheryl, whose lips...twitched too...pleasantly...as if he figured out something. "I hope my brother didn't ask anything _too_ personal...did he?" He pulled the boy closer, feeling, rather than seeing the blush--the warmth radiating from the boy's cheeks.

"My, I'm certain I didn't ask too much," Sheryl responded with a sharp grin. "You really need to learn to trust me better, Little brother~ Now come along--if you aren't going to do your work, then you might as well come along for the tour~"

Lavi merely shook his head--the only answer he gave to Tyki's question. Just _why_ he didn't tell the man about the last few questions Sheryl had asked, he really had no clue. But, for some reason...he didn't want to, as he found that he actually--didn't particularly mind them.

Loosening his grip on Tyki's arm, he let go, and stepped back a bit, walking evenly between the two older men, as they began the tour of the building. He _would_ need to be closer to Sheryl, to pay attention to what he was saying and showing him, after all--at least, that's what Lavi told himself.

Tyki found he didn't quite like it. Didn't quite like the way that Lavi only shook his head, and how he stepped just a _little_ closer to brother dearest, leaning his head in and watching his hands as he waved in certain directions. Like the building's history was really that fascinating. Well, it wasn't. Their foster father (or, well, 'Uncle' or was it 'Brother?' He could never remember what the man told them to call him) had built the place. Their cousin--Lulubelle--had helped design it. So of course they knew everything about it--every little thing and--why was Lavi's face turning redder and redder? And why was Sheryl _smiling_ like that?

Tyki felt his steps slow as they made their way down one of the man stairwells that led to the huge 'Foyer'--which was really the 'entertainment' section of the company, with ivy and other miscellaneous plants hanging from steel bars--everything covered with glass, some places not. Lavi was naming a particular kind of plant. Sheryl looked fascinated. Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwait.

And they were laughing.

Suddenly Tyki felt so terribly out of the loop.

Lavi paused in his explanation, muttering a quick "Hold on a sec?" to Sheryl, before going back to where Tyki had stopped, a few feet behind them.

"Hey, what's wrong? Y'look kinda...I dunno, depressed...?" he asked, lifting a hand to place against Tyki's arm. He cast a quick glance at Sheryl--why couldn't he seem to keep his eyes off of him?--and noticed the man watching, interested, before turning back to look up at Tyki.

Tyki blinked, startled out of his daze when he felt Lavi's hand on his arm. "Ah? No, no--it just...seems like you're having a good time...and I already know most of this so--it's really quite boring."

"Ah, I suppose it would be, wouldn't it?" Sheryl hummed, coming up to them. "I'm terribly sorry for making you come along Tyki-pon, though." He glanced down at his watch. "Goodness--it's already been an hour--are you hungry? We could always go out now for dinner, if you'd like?" He flashed a smile at the both of them, and, well--yes Tyki didn't like it...but...he exhaled. What could he say?

"Do what you want."

He shrugged his shoulders, watching as Lavi glanced back and forth between the both of them. "Just as long as we don't go to..._that place_ again, we'll be fine."

"Crystal clear."

They shared another glance--Lavi looking again, between them, confused--before he patted the boy's head. "Don't worry about it, Lovey. Now what do you say we go? Which car are we taking? And who's driving?"

"Not you." He could be slightly hurt that it wasn't just his _brother_ saying that.

Just a little. Was his driving _that_ bad?

Lavi couldn't help but laugh at that, catching Sheryl's eye, which only made him laugh harder. Then, he turned back to Tyki. "Sorry, but...I'd rather not lose my appetite before I can even _eat_ something, Tyki. And I can't drive yet, so...it looks like Sheryl is."

He hadn't noticed the man's eyes narrow when he'd shared that laugh with his older brother, but even if he had, he wouldn't have thought much of it at this point. Laughing was laughing, wasn't it? There was nothing wrong with that. And of course, the silly little rabbit had no clue, that he had the capability to make anyone jealous.

Today certainly _was_ turning out to be his day, wasn't it? Yes, it certainly was, Sheryl decided, as he led the two to his car. It was a stroke of good luck that the redhead hadn't seemed overly creeped out by him from the get-go, and it had been even _better_ luck, when the boy apparently liked listening to him--and he wasn't even legal yet~!

He was definitely going to enjoy when--"Brother, if you can't keep yours eyes on the road, then maybe I _am_ better off driving."

He jolted at Tyki's rude comment--glaring at him as he sat, bored, in the passenger's seat (because the dear redhead had crawled into the backseat before he could stop him).

"I, unfortunately will have to disagree with that statement. You _are_ a horrible driver."

/"But at least I don't have sexual fantasies while driving."/ Ah, he noticed their native tongue on the boy's lips, as glanced in the rearview mirror. It didn't seem like Lavi was listening, and even if he had been...could he understand them? He was almost certain of it--after all, Bookmen were well versed in many languages.

"For your information, I'm not…having...these...thoughts, if you will." He snorted, indignantly--catching Lavi's attention. "Now hush up, and tell me where you want to eat."

Lavi was quiet for a few moments, and it was obvious from his expression, that he was deep in thought. "How about...Red Robin? I'm addicted to their Buzzard Clucks..."

/"And yes, you were,"/ the boy added absently, ignoring the surprise on both the other men's faces when he said it in Portuguese. Then, he snickered. /"I could tell from the look on your face."/

Tyki snickered at that. "Seems like he one-upped you, brother dearest." Sheryl scowled, but he ignored it and instead asked, "Red Robin? I don't believe I've...ever been there?"

"And I don't believe I have either. Where is it exactly?" Sheryl wondered, though--was he blushing? It was faint but...that was strange. Very strange. And Tyki didn't like it, but didn't comment on it, instead focusing on the redhead sitting in the back.

Lavi was astonished--as well as a bit ashamed--and it definitely showed on his face. "Man...you guys..." He shook his head, laughing.

"Uhm...there should be a few of them in the city, but the closest one is near the theatre, down on Mainstreet. I--Have you _seriously_ never been there? Gawd...that's unreal. Red Robin is G.R.E.A.T. Not overly fancy, but they're nice, and the service is good. And the food...oh gawd, the food..." he trailed off, lost in a fantasy of Buzzard Clucks, and Popcorn Shrimp.

Tyki blinked at the redhead, as he went off on his own little daze. "Is the food really...that good?"

Lavi snapped back to attention, blushing slightly. "Uhm...yeah. Or else I probably wouldn't have zoned-out like that, thinking about it...heh... But--yeah, it's _really_ good. Their salads are okay, but--fuck--the Buzzard Clucks are the best, though. Seriously--like an orgasm in my mouth~" he sighed dreamily

Sheryl nearly ran a red light. And another. And--oh, there was a police-car _right there_. Tyki felt his lips splitting into a grin, as his brother keeled over in silent laughter at the next red light.

That caught Lavi's attention though, and he looked shocked, and opened his mouth to ask an obvious question, but--really? _Really_?

"You have no idea what you just said, do you Lovey?"

"I--no...?" he worded his answer as another question, then blinked. "What did I say wrong?"

"An 'orgasm in my mouth'. Lovey, you do realize what that...could mean, right?"

Sheryl coughed, and straightened himself out at those words, though his lips threatened to split in a very similar smile to Tyki's own.

No, that wasn't disturbing. But he _had_ to agree that it was--well--worth it to see the blush spread across the redhead's face.

"Ohhh..._oh_. Oh, _fuck_! Sorry!!" Lavi's face was now quite a decent shade of red...which he hid in his hands. "Uhm...yeah..."

"I don't think saying 'Fuck' will help your case any, Lovey." Tyki smirked, watching as the boy bowed his head from view. This really _was_ too much fun. Except of course, he wasn't like his brother. Not one bit.

"Now, now, Tyki-pon," Sheryl 'tsk'ed at him, seeming to have composed himself for the duration of the red light. "No teasing our...guest. Even though it is cute. And adorable. _And kinky_."

Lavi's head jolted up at that, one eye widening, and face turning--impossibly _brighter_ than his hair.

"Sheryl..."

"Tyki, shut the Hell _up_!!!! Or else I'll tell Sheryl that you still have that photo on your wall, of when you were kids!!" He didn't even realize, that he just _had_ told Sheryl.

/"And _you_!"/ he addressed Sheryl, in Portuguese. /"If you have something to say to me, say it! Don't be scared because your little brother's here..!"/

Yes...Lavi was one of those people who went into all-out traitorous 'I'm gonna-rant-at-you-till-you're-just-as-embarrassed-as-I-am' mode, when he was too flustered to function normally.

And for some reason this was just too amusing. "Oh?" Sheryl glanced over at Tyki, who coughed uncomfortably. "You still _miss_ me, brother dearest~?"

Tyki scowled, "Not particularly, and really...I probably don't want to hear what you have to say, but..."

But he knew it was too late. He _knew_ it was.

Because Sheryl laughed again. "So you want me to openly say, 'Shut up~ And sleep with me, c'mon why don't you sleep with me~?'"

Tyki _really_ wished he were driving now. Or that Sheryl wasn't, because then he would be able to hit him _without_ worry of killing them all by going off the road.

/"Just great,"/ he muttered instead, shaking his head, and watching as Lavi's face turned impossibly brighter in the backseat. /"You shouldn't have asked..."/

"I...I--I..!!" Lavi gave up on speech, opting instead to let out a high-pitched whine, and let his head 'thunk' into the back of Sheryl's seat. He--honestly--didn't know _how_ to respond to that. There was no sense denying anymore, that yes--he was highly attracted to Sheryl, despite his...quirks. But--but _that_...no. Just--no.

But Sheryl just kept singing. Just kept singing, until they literally were _in the damn parking lot_--and there, is when, Tyki could safely whack the man over the head, and turn to face Lavi, who was still hiding his face, and shaking.

"Goodness, are you okay?" Sheryl asked after a moment, nursing the wound on his head and looking very surprised, "I mean, I know you're a virgin--and that Tyki didn't get some, but...really?"

Tyki felt his face flush. "Wait...what?"

He would have asked more, but Lavi let out another soft whine, making the question die on his lips when the boy looked up and--and-

-And whacked Sheryl on the back of the head.

"You--_you_!!! I didn't _tell_ you that, so that you could tell Tyki I _told you_!!!" he growled, ears burning. His eye was even watering a bit, from the pure mortification. Then, he quickly looked to Tyki. "He--he _asked_, and I said in the beginning that I'd be honest...but I didn't tell him what you _did_ get, just what you _didn't_, and..."

He tried to rectify the situation, but--only succeeded in making it more awkward. At least, for himself.

Tyki scowled, and whacked Sheryl on top of the head as well. "What did I say about _asking_ those kinds of questions?"

Then he sighed and turned back to Lavi. "It's fine, just--you shouldn't answer a question like that--even if you _do_ want to be honest." He sent another scathing look towards Sheryl, who was currently whining and draping himself over the steering wheel.

"Now--are we going to go inside, or not?" he questioned. "And--you're paying, Sheryl."

"But I drove us over here!"

"Still means you're paying."

After exiting the car, Lavi led them into the restaurant. Immediately, a small blonde woman walked over to them, smiling brightly as she asked how many. Lavi gave her the answer, and she led them into a booth at the back.

The redhead could help but laugh when Tyki was momentarily sidetracked by the model train running along the track near the ceiling, before disappearing into the wall somewhere. Sheryl seemed to find it amusing as well, much to Tyki's dismay.

Once they reached the booth, Lavi slid into the corner of one of the benches, and--again, to Tyki's utter horrification--Sheryl took the seat next to him, before Tyki had a chance to. And once again, Lavi couldn't help but laugh at the disgruntled expression on the man's face, as he slid into the seat opposite them.

Sheryl let out a laugh at Tyki's crestfallen expression. "Whatever is the matter, brother dearest?" he wondered out loud, making sure to snake his hand under the table, to pet Lavi's knee. He _so_ loved it when the boy stiffened. "Don't be so uptight, after all--I'm paying, you know~?"

Almost immediately, another waiter came up this time--and smiled at them, all bright and happy. "Hello, I am your server today. How may I help you?"

"Uhm..." Trying hard not to react to the firm hand now stroking his _thigh_, Lavi peered over at the drink-menu, then--getting what _he_ thought was a brilliant idea--he put his finger over the 'Strawberry-Lime Margarita', sliding it over to Sheryl, and giving the man his most irresistible pouty-face.

Sheryl more than took the hint. "Ah, I think I'll have the Strawberry-Lime Margarita, to start off with...Tyki?"

Tyki sighed. "Hmm...just a Sprite. Something tells me I'll be the one driving home tonight..." They both turned to the redhead, asking nearly at the same time, "As for what to order...this is our first time here, so."

"Uhm..." Lavi tried to keep the triumphant smirk off his face, as he scanned the menu. "Well...what sort of things do you like, Sheryl?"

/"Sex with underage teenage boys, not included,"/ he added in Portuguese, laughing.

"As for you, Tyki, 'cuz I kinda know what you like...I'd recommend the Guacamole Bacon Burger."

Tyki sent scathing looks to the both of them before nodding his head, "I'll get that then, and _brother_?"

Sheryl let out a hesitant laugh. "Well I...do like...spicy things? If that accounts for anything...and you really _have_ taken your tastes from me, haven't you brother-dear?"

Tyki scowled, and Lavi continued to look through the menu, and Sheryl? Well, yes--his hand was still stroking the boy's thigh. It was so damned amusing how the redhead was trying to ignore it.

"Then you should get-" he cut himself off with a small squeak, as Sheryl's hand traveled up a little _too_ high. "*Ahem* You'd probably like the A-1 Peppercorn Burger, then."

He put the menu down, and looked back at the waitress, hoping against hope that she couldn't see his blush--though he knew it was futile. "As for me, I'm just gunna have a set of Buzzard Wings. Thanks~"

Once the waiter (who cast them each wary glances) jotted down their orders and turned heel, Tyki immediately stomped on his brother's foot, Lavi scooting as far away as possible without melting into the wall beside him.

"Sheryl, be appropriate."

"I'm paying, remember?" The older man clucked, hand traveling in the pitiful space between his and Lavi's bodies to stroke his thigh again.

Only to have his foot stepped on. _Again_.

"Ouch!"

"Brother."

"Whaaat~?"

"No."

Lavi coughed lightly, but couldn't help the smile from spreading across his face. Not only was it…highly amusing, watching the two brothers bicker--but the fact that it was over _him--_and that they were both _really_ hot…

When the waitress brought their food and drinks back to the table, Lavi finally let out an excited 'Whoop~' when Sheryl pushed the Margarita over to him. He snickered, and stuck his tongue out at Tyki, before taking a sip.

Tyki looked mildly appalled by his brother's leniency...but it wasn't like he could truly say anything on the matter without sounding like a hypocrite. He just chose to enjoy his dinner--his burger--which was really quite good. Not that he didn't love McDonald's or Burger King (when he was _truly_ desperate and depraved), but really? This was-

"Hooot~" And Sheryl stole his drink. Then took a sip out of Lavi's, and before he knew it--before he knew it he had tried some of the boy's drink as well, and--when had twenty minutes passed? An hour? When had Lavi gotten a free refill from sweet-talking the waitress? Didn't they know he was eighteen? Did it even _matter_?

No, he decided, it didn't--as he helped the boy out of his seat (he looked...startled for some reason, and he cast Sheryl a wary glance. He had only disappeared for two minutes to take a bathroom break--what could possibly happen in two minutes? Maybe he didn't want to know), and helped him out of the restaurant to the car.

And maybe he should have questioned his brother's motives, when he basically crawled into the back seat of the car, next to Lavi. But Lavi was half asleep and so was Sheryl, so that meant it was _okay_ right? Right. Though he knew it wasn't, when Lavi gave him directions to Kanda's house--nearly begging--because he knew what that meant.

He did, yes he did, when he watched Lavi slam the car door and stumble a bit, mumbling something incomprehensible in Portuguese, that he couldn't even begin to catch--but he didn't take his eyes off the boy until he pulled his cell phone out, and dialed--he was sure--Kanda's number, and waved them off.

He'd just have to call the boy tomorrow, to see how he was doing.

******Backtrack - Two Hours Earlier******

He'd downed nearly half the Margarita when--suddenly, it was snatched out of his hand. Casting a half-hearted glare at Sheryl, Lavi snatched it back--only to have it snatched right away again, this time by Tyki. What did a boy have to do to get his alcohol these days, huh?

And wait--that hand was suddenly a _lot_ higher up his thigh than it needed to be, and the boy couldn't help but let out a squeak of surprise. Then, before he knew it, his Buzzard Clucks were gone--as was his Margarita. Calling over the waitress, he flashed her a dazzling smile, as he passed her the depressingly empty glass--the young woman blushed brightly, took the offered item, and rushed off. She was back in moments, and-

Soon--sooner than he'd realized--Lavi was drunk. But he didn't realize. Or did he? Maybe it could just be said that he didn't care. Nor did he really care--surprisingly--when Sheryl leaned over, and kissed the side of his neck. Was he drunk too? But then, Lavi didn't really care about that either. Nor when the older man's hand moved from his thigh to his ass--giving it a little squeeze. He was sure he was blushing by now, if he hadn't been already.

But he didn't care.

Then when Tyki came back--wait, what? He hadn't even seen the man leave--and helped him out of the seat, Lavi's eyes widened, and he nearly fell over. Why couldn't he stand on his own? Oh yes, that's right, he was drunk. Right? Right.

And then, they were in the car--and again, Lavi didn't remember having walked out of the restaurant and through the parking lot, but could that really be helped at this point? No, it couldn't. But he _still didn't care_.

Sheryl was half lying on top of him, he noticed--but again, didn't care. And when the man's hands started touching, rubbing, caressing places they were definitely _not_ supposed to be touching, rubbing, and caressing--he still couldn't bring himself to care. Much. He was so--so tired, and he just wanted to slee-

He was being woken up--he'd fallen asleep?--and they were at Kanda's house. He didn't remember giving directions, but then...he must have. But Tyki'd driven him here before, hadn't he? Oh well. He'd worry about it later. For now, he stumbled out of the car, and pulled out his phone. Sheryl was still asleep in the backseat, and Tyki--he looked worried, didn't he? Or was it Lavi's imagination?

He shook his head, waving them off, and dialed Kanda's number. When the older boy didn't pick up, he dialed again. Then again, and finally-

******Kanda******

It just wasn't his fucking day, was it? First with the idiot Rabbit and his idiot tendencies, then the _Moyashi_ and _Lenalee_ even--got into some shit that they refused to talk directly about--and refused to believe he had fucking guessed--for the love of, her mask was worse than the Usagi's--like he wouldn't notice!

And right when he had gotten home, he had gotten spam phone calls from...that guy...again--begging--pleading, because some crazy shit was going down that he _still_ didn't want to be a part of (ever, ever again), and he hadn't even gotten most of his fucking _homework_ done until one AM...

But of course, right when he managed blissful sleep--_what_ wakes him up? His cell-phone. He let it ring once (who knows, maybe 'they' figured out his new cell-phone number? He didn't fucking know), then twice, and on the third try he forced himself up.

"_What_?" he bellowed into the phone, too tired to fucking care who it was--it was 3AM in the fucking _morning_, why _should_ he care?

/Ne....Yuuuuuuu...could ya stop yellin' please?/ Lavi slurred over the phone. It was quite obvious the boy was drunk. Then, /Uhm...I didn' wake ya up, di'I?/

Kanda let out an aggravated sigh, rolling over and pushing himself up from the bed. "What do you think, baka? Why the fuck are you calling me at 3AM in the morning?"

He thought that over for a moment before realization hit him.

"Where are you?" He didn't want to sound worried, but he cursed himself when he let a little of that emotion through in his words. The redhead sounded drunk.

/Uhm...well, if ya don't wanna talk on the phone, then why don'ya come on down an' lemme in? Then we can talk in the house~!!/ He seemed overly happy about this, if the tone of his voice was of any indication.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'lemme in'? You can't--" He stopped that sentence. "You--don't mean...you're outside my fucking door?"

/Erm...well actually, I'm about...four feet back from your door, an' two feet to th'left of it~/ Lavi exclaimed proudly.

Kanda let out a sigh, walking (_not_ stumbling) to his bedroom door, before making his way down the dark hallway to the living room, then the front door.

"Do you think I fucking _care_ how far you are from the fucking door?" He unlatched the lock, and tugged the doorknob, probably a little harder than he should.

And there was the redhead, slumping just a little, and humming some strange tune...but--but his posture was all wrong. Sure, he slouched normally, but his expression as well--there was a dazed look in his eyes (not to mention they were dilated), and his grin was a little too wide and goofy...

Dear God (which he didn't believe in). "You're drunk."

Lavi's eye had widened slightly when the door was pulled open, and he straightened up just a little, and--there was Kanda, in all his--'Oh my Gawd', _shirtless_--glory, and Lavi couldn't help but blush a little.

"Oh...oh yeah, I guess I am..." he mumbled, taking a step forward. He looked back up at his friend, observing him as best as he could, with his one eye hazy from alcohol. The man's hair was let down, tangled in some places with knots that only Lavi'd ever gotten to see--the Japanese only had his hair down when he slept, after all, and Lavi was the only one he'd ever trust to be in the same room with him while he slept. That's what he'd said, anyways. "But tha's Tyki's fault...an' Sheryl's, too..."

"So...y'gunna lemme in, or what?" he asked, pretending not to notice the anger slowly taking over the other's expression. Or _did_ he even notice?

Kanda scowled but sighed. "Che, come in. But don't think you're fucking getting off the hook."

He watched as the boy stumbled inside, and crashed on the nearest piece of furniture (the couch), hair splaying messily across pale skin--that goofy grin still placed on his lips as he draped one arm across his eyes.

Kanda sighed, and moved over to him, leaning against the couch. "What the fuck happened?" It was a quiet question--but one he wanted to know. Tyki--yes, he knew Tyki--Lavi had probably spent all _day_ with this man, and--"Sheryl?" Who was Sheryl?

Not that he was worried, or anything. Just curious.

"Nnng...Sheryl is...Tyki's older brother. S'reeaaalllyy hotttt...but...really 'touchy-feely', though..." He trailed off, eye glazing over a bit, before he remembered the other boy's first question.

"Uhm...what we did today...? Well, I called Panda-jiji when I got sent outta class, an' he sent Tyki-pon ta come'n pick me up. So I went back ta his place, an' we..." He trailed off again, not wanting to say that part. At least...he wasn't sure he should? "Uhm, so yeah...then we went ta the office, an' Sheryl gave me a tour...then we went ta dinner at Red Robin--an'--an'--stuff.....then Tyki drove me here~!!"

If Lavi was easy to read before, he was like an open book now. "And you _what_? You obviously got drunk at some point--don't tell me they bought you alcohol." And he really didn't want to reprimand the boy--Hell, he had alcohol in his fridge (thanks to those guys popping up out of nowhere), so he couldn't get angry without sounding like a hypocrite--"You _know_ you're a lightweight."

Not that saying that now would do any good, the boy would probably not remember this in the morning.

Right now he just wanted answers to his question. Then he'd move the boy to an actual bed. Because he was nice like that. Not that he cared. Or--well. Yeah.

"Yeh, Sheryl ordered me a Margarita... An' I--I--well, I had a lil' 'problem', an' Tyki....helped me...with it..." he trailed off, blushing fiercely, before continuing. "So I--well, I wanted ta help him too, 'cuz then _he_ had a problem, so--I ..."

Then, he blinked, not really able to believe that he'd just admitted that. Out loud. To _Kanda_, of all people.

Kanda blinked. And blinked again. "You...what...?" It took a moment for the information to sink in.

And his first thought?

"Thank god you didn't call Lenalee." She would have freaked. Out.

Lavi looked surprised though.

"What?"

Lavi groaned, and rolled over--right off the edge of the couch, hitting the ground with a loud 'thunk'.

"I...I was s'posed'ta call Lena-chaaaaan...last night. An' I forgot--b'cuz--b'cuz I was too drunk, an' Sheryl wouldn't stop touchin' meee...but it felt good, so I didn' caaare..." He was going way off-topic, and he seemed to realize it. "An'--an' now Lena's nev'r gunna forgive me, b'cuz she _said_ she won' if I didn' call her..."

"Touching...you...?"

But the redhead didn't seem to hear him--instead, he continued to grovel on the ground about how Lenalee 'wouldn't forgive him', and how he was 'in trouble', and how he 'didn't care'. And it was all quite ridiculous, so he moved around the couch and kicked the redhead (lightly) for good measure.

"Like you can call her now," he grumbled, when he'd gotten the man's attention. "It's three in the morning--any sane person would be asleep. Now come on, we're going to bed."

Now that sounded wrong...really wrong--and he knew his face must've flared up at it--but it wasn't what he meant. It was completely innocent...completely. _So_...so...

He dragged the boy up by his collar; hoping it'd work, but the redhead had _no_ sense of balance whatsoever, and they wound up stumbling backwards in a mess of limbs, back--back on the ground.

...And something was poking him. Poking him--down there--down _there_, and his brain nearly shut off.

"Fucking Baka!" And he shoved. "What the fuck?" But the redhead didn't move. Was probably too _tired_ to--and he couldn't blame him for that--_but_-

"Nnng..?? Wha'd I _do_?" Lavi whined, trying to cover his ears to Kanda's unnecessary (in his opinion) yell...but it was a little too late, for the man was already quiet again.

He...really didn't see what the problem was. It wasn't _his_ fault they fell, after all. And so, he tried to stand up, only for Kanda's leg...to rub...against right _there_.

Suddenly, realization dawned on Lavi, and his eye flew wide open. "Oh..._ohh_. Ehe~ Sorry...Yuu-chan... I really didn't even...notice...that..."

Kanda turned his head to the side, and 'che'd. "How the fuck can you not _notice_--don't tell me this...Sheryl guy...did that...?" But he didn't have the heart to get up. Even if he did, his face would be too close to the redheads, and it was a miracle the man hadn't started _teasing_ him yet.

True they had...messed around...just a little. One time, when Lavi found the alcohol those guys left...but--but that was just _once_, and they didn't do anything more than dare each other kisses and--damnit, he was _blushing_ again!

But, surprisingly--rather than tease the Japanese boy, Lavi himself developed his own blush--and a rather deep one, at that.

"Well--well yeah, it was prolly him... He was kinda...on top of me, in the car... But--but--_damnit_. So he's in his mid-thirties? He's fuckin' hoottttt, an' good with his hands, _too_... An'--an'--yeah..." He trailed off, his blush even brighter now, as he though back to what happened...at the restaurant...when Tyki was in the bathroom. He didn't even seem to _realize_ that he was making Kanda jealous. Which--if he'd been sober right then--he definitely would have.

"Really now?"

Kanda cursed himself when he couldn't keep all the bitterness from his voice. Lavi. Was. Drunk. He didn't know what he was saying--he _didn't_, and that man--Sheryl--had taken advantage of his lack of drinking capability and--but-

He saw the blush--bright, and red, and...he--what could he _say_?

What could he say that wouldn't make the twinge in his heart just get _worse_? As the redhead on top of him squirmed a little, and blushed, and remained painfully quiet.

_Damnit, damnit, damnnittttt._

"Yeah...really. An'--an'--I'm real worried, b'cuz...I think I might like him--a bit--even though he's a _total_ pervert...an'--an' Tyki noticed, an' he's....mad 'bout that. B'cuz _he_ really likes me--an'--an'--I like Tyki. But now I like Sheryl, too. An' I really like Yuu, tooooo..." He moaned softly, but it was a sound of distress, not pleasure, and it was obvious.

"An'--an' I'unno whadda do now. B'cuz--I--ugh. An' now...I got 'nuther 'problem'..."

Kanda flushed slightly at the admission, but--but--"Che...and you expect me to help you _solve_ this fucking problem?"

Except he knew he'd try. Because why the fuck else would Lavi come here? Besides the fact that Bookman would kill him if he saw him in his current state. which wasn't a pleasant thought, so Kanda pushed that to the depths of his mind, and instead tried to force him up. But the redheaded idiot was _blushing_ again, and--well--wait, why?

Why-why-why--and then he was being tackled to the ground again.

"What the f--"

And being cut off. Because the baka Usagi was _nice_ like that.

"Yuuu..." Lavi shook his head, his brow furrowed in a...well, it was supposed to be a serious manner. Apparently, he was better at picking up double-meanings when he was drunk, than when he was sober. Or maybe it was just because, this time--_he_ wasn't the one saying it. "D'ya even _know_ what y'said? Or...what I was talkin' 'bout? 'Problem', y'know? As in..." He trailed off, figuring the other boy was smart enough to understand.

Kanda's eyes widened for a moment, as the redhead on top of him explained what...he said...wait...

"That's--not--" But--but why wasn't he so opposed to the idea? He always told the redhead that he _wouldn't_ do...that...no matter how drunk and wanting the redhead turned out to be. He wouldn't. No.

But with the redhead on top of him now, obviously hard from being...molested (no matter how willingly)...and it being 3AM...and him not thinking straight, well...

"Che, and?" He couldn't keep the blush off his face though, and he was certain the idiot rabbit noticed now.

"Ahh...well, I jus' figured...y'know, that ya didn' really know what I was talkin' 'bout...seein' as how ya didn' freak out, an' all..." Lavi blushed again, averting his eye. He suddenly felt really, really embarrassed. Was it because he'd just--essentially--confessed to Kanda that he liked him? Sort of? Maybe? Even _he_ didn't know anymore, at this point.

"So, uhm...I'll jus'...go...borrow yer bathroom now..?" he asked hesitantly. Even as drunk as he was, he could tell Kanda was irritated. And considering the circumstances, he could only assume he was irritated at _him_.

Kanda che'd, and was really quite _willing_ to let the redhead go and take care of his 'business'. Except, well. Apparently his body didn't like that idea.

Before he could quite control it, his hands had shot out to grab the redhead's hips--to keep him in place, and he could _feel_ the...thing...poking him...as he sat up--he could hear the soft hiss as Lavi unintentionally shifted to get comfortable.

No he didn't like those sounds, what are _you_ talking about?

Lavi squirmed in Kanda's lap, trying to get better-situated--and, well...he felt a bit _awkward_, having the older boy just...hold him there. It was different when Tyki did it--it was in his nature. But Kanda was never a touchy person--that is, unless he was 'touching' you with the tip of Mugen's blade.

"Ne...Yuu...it's mean ta hold me here like this... I gotta...take care of 'this', b'fore it gets...bad..." He coughed, averting his eye again.

Kanda cocked his head to the side, and vaguely wondered for his sanity when the next words slipped out of his mouth. "'Bad'?"

As if he seriously didn't get it. As if he--Hell--what _was_ he thinking? He didn't know anymore, he decided.

And he didn't want to push Lavi over, but he did anyway. "Che, you mean this?" And--_why_ did he grab it, again? Well...he liked Lavi's reaction, anyway, when he gripped him through his pants--it was amusing, in its own special way.

And the whine the boy gave a second later did nothing to him. No. That shiver down his spine? It never happened.

"N-ne...Yuu...? W-whaddaya doin'...?" he asked, his words broken up too much for his liking. He blinked up at the older boy, finally realizing that he was now on his back, with Kanda--Kanda was--pinning him down? Well now, that just made the redhead blush even harder. And harder still, when the Japanese squeezed at his crotch again, forcing him to let out a strangled moan. "Y-Yuu...!!"

"Hnn," the man huffed as Lavi cried out his name (which again, didn't do anything. At. All), and moved his hand away, amused when the boy bucked up. "That's what you're trying to 'take care of'? Che."

Because, well--he shouldn't be enjoying this, as he tried to force him up--tried to say 'Go take care of it', because it _was_ bad, and he probably just made it _worse_ but-

A hand gripped his wrist and prevented that, green eye dark, glazed with alcohol and something else.

Well. Shit.

"Yuu..." he groaned, blinking a few times. Then, suddenly--and without a second thought--he leaned up as far as he could, pulling Kanda down closer towards him as he did so, and-

He couldn't believe he'd ever forgotten how nice it felt, kissing the Japanese boy. It wasn't hard and passionate, like with Tyki--but soft, almost...clumsy. But it was slow, and it was a nice change. He could only hope that the other wouldn't pull away, once he'd realized what happened...

And...he was being kissed. Wait. What?

It took Kanda a moment to register the slightly chapped lips of the other male, but when he did--it reminded him of the drinking games. And the dare-kisses that the redhead always wanted, and that Yuu would have given without question if--if--but this wasn't a dare, even if the boy still tasted like alcohol, even if he normally would have pulled away by now because it was _not_ like him and--and-

He was so very glad he needed to breathe eventually, because when he did, he could pull away, and stare, and ask "Wha--"

But he was being pulled back again, lips slamming a little more forcefully into his own--and he found himself really not caring, as he shifted a bit, forcing the boy's legs apart with his knee due to the angle, and--that was unintentional. It was. Right. Didn't mean he couldn't like the moan the redhead gave, as his knee pressed against that _bulge_ and--

And when the boy broke the kiss to cry out his name, back arching-

_Goddamn_.

"Yuu..." Lavi all but panted, squeezing his eyes shut. It felt...good--the friction, the other boy's touch...it all felt so good, and the redhead couldn't help but let out another soft moan. He pulled Kanda's face back towards his own for another kiss, but only managed a slight, barely-there press of lips, that was over almost just as soon as it had begun.

"I...damn. Are ya gunna get me off, or ya gunna get off me, so I can do it myself?" he asked quickly, though his voice was barely above a whisper. His little 'problem' was actually starting to hurt...and if he didn't do something _soon_...

Kanda's eyes widened at Lavi's question, and immediately that statement--that promise--'I won't go _that_ far'--seemed too weak. Far too weak, especially now, with the redhead under him, looking so--so--He felt a shiver go down his spine--_Goddamnit_--he hated going against his word, especially to himself but.

But this was Lavi.

He let out a shaky sigh and stood, watching as a look of disappointment crossed the redhead's face, before he extended his hand. "Che, come on. We're not doing this on the _floor_."

"Ehh..." Lavi raised his hand--why the Hell was he shaking?--and grasped onto Kanda's, though his grip was rather weak. He allowed the older boy to pull him up, unsteadily, to his feet, and he all but fell into Kanda--thankful when the other caught him, and practically half-carried him down the hall, to his bedroom.

The moment he was let go, Lavi fell onto Kanda's bed--no longer having the strength to keep _himself_ upright--and, ironically enough, landed on his back.

"Yuu...?" His voice was, well...small. And unsure. Almost like a child's.

He could tell the boy was unsure about the whole thing, and really, Kanda couldn't blame him. Beds usually meant getting tangled in them, and waking up sweaty the next morning. But this? This...well...he smiled--trying to keep it as soft as he needed, as reassuring, though he hadn't given one of those in a while (the last one was to Lenalee, and he couldn't even remember _what_ that had been for. But that it had been his fault. For some reason).

"Che, don't worry, I won't do..._that_...just...shut up," with that he crawled onto the bed again, hands immediately going to the idiots belt, to undo the belt buckle that held his pants on his hips.

But of course, Lavi wouldn't listen--and sure enough, a moment later, two shaky hands were placed over his own, and when he looked up--he heard the sharp intake of breath, and the way the boy's mouth opened and closed a few times before words could form.

"Yuu..?" he finally spoke up, looking for all the world, well...afraid. "Yuu doesn't...hate me--do you?"

In Lavi's drunken mind, this was a perfectly legitimate worry. After all, the other boy sure _acted_ like he hated him, most of the time. And at the moment, the redhead wasn't nearly sober enough to remember--that's just the way Kanda was.

Kanda opened his mouth to respond--to say 'Would I do this if I hated you?', but he knew the answer to that question. He knew but...he didn't. So he sighed, and let the words fall out, sitting up a little straighter as he did so. "Che, would I do this if I hated you?"

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but he cut him off. "Just shut up, and enjoy this." He looked down again, focusing at the task at hand--shoving Lavi's hands away, and finally getting the buckle to come undone. Then he started working down the zipper.

Lavi blushed, and snapped his mouth closed obediently, nodding his head. Okay. If Kanda wanted him to be quiet--then he would be quiet. As long as--as long as Yuu didn't hate him, he'd be fine.

But then, when the older boy's hands started tugging down his zipper, he couldn't help but let out a soft squeak, and moving his hands back. He was--_why_ was he so embarrassed? He'd done this with Tyki already, hadn't he? Yes--yes he had. And he'd been fine. Slowly, the redhead pulled his hands back again, to rest at his sides. It was only the alcohol making him this way--there was no other option.

Kanda blinked, and watched as the usagi dropped his hands back to his sides, shifting a little, and looking for all the world like this--like this--_meant_ something? Wait...what...?

He sat up a little more, and gently (far too gently than he would ever admit), gripped one of the boy's hands, sending him a questioning look he hoped he would get.

It was 3AM in the morning. That was his excuse.

It was 3 AM in the morning, and this redhead was currently on his bed, blushing, and--he didn't want...to do...anything he didn't--want?

Well of course he didn't, but-

"Will you let me?"

Lavi remained silently for a few moments, before nodding, slowly. Then, he looked up to meet Kanda's eyes. "...Yeah...okay. I trust Yuu."

He couldn't help but tense--just a bit--however, when he felt his pants and boxers slowly being slid down off his hips. Nor could he stop the quick intake of air, when said articles of clothing made a soft 'thud' sound, as they were dropped to the floor.

Damnit--what was _with_ him tonight? This was Kanda, damnit. _Kanda_. Who would never hurt him. Lavi took in a deep breath of air, then let it out slowly, forcing himself to relax--to 'enjoy this', as Yuu had instructed.

He saw Lavi tense up and scowled, but ignored it, instead taking his length into his hand, and slowly starting to pump. Keeping up a steady rhythm, and listening for the steady increase of breath--rise and fall of his chest--of the small shivers Lavi would sometimes do when he blew on the back of his neck.

He smirked when he got a whimper, but it still seemed restrained. "Che, ba-ka--relax." He hated it, but he almost sounded playful. Kanda Yuu did _not_ sound playful.

He just hoped the redhead wasn't paying attention.

Lavi felt his blush deepen at the--well, with Kanda, he supposed it _was_ a command, but he did as he was told, nonetheless. The next time he felt Kanda's fingers trail along his erection, he didn't try to hold back his moan. Nor the next. Or even the one after that.

"Gah--Yuu...kiss me...?" he asked, almost--pleadingly. He...really wanted the other boy to kiss him again. Or...not 'again', seeing as Lavi had been the one to initiate the other kisses--so, he supposed it would make more sense if he 'just wanted Kanda to kiss him'.

Kanda raised his eyebrow at the request, smirking slightly. "Really?" He increased his pace on the boy's erection, watching him squirm for a moment before letting out a sharp whine.

With that he leaned forward a bit, so that he was looking down at the redhead, keeping the smirk still in place. "You want me to, hn?" He lowered his head as he said those words, making sure to brush his lips against the other's, but not initiate the kiss.

No, he wasn't a tease. Not at all. It was just fun...to see the desperate look in the other's eye as he denied him something he wanted.

Lavi growled softly, and lifted a hand to wrap around the back of Kanda's neck--pulling the man closer, and holding him there--as he pressed their lips together tightly, a desperate moan slipping past his own, but soon lost between their conjoined mouths. He bucked himself into Kanda's hand, whining softly.

He was close--closer than he knew he should have been this soon. But--once again, he decided to blame the alcohol.

Kanda felt the heat in the kiss, and had to wonder exactly _how much_ the redhead had had before, but decided not to worry too much about it--he'd find out in the morning (everything was found out in the morning) and--well--he did enjoy the kiss.

He...could...let himself enjoy it, couldn't he? As he felt said redhead buck against him, and whine into his mouth--he took the opportunity and slipped his tongue inside, to play with Lavi's own.

He felt the boy stiffen under him at that, before pressing him closer, and--he could barely keep up with how fast his tongue was moving--but he would _not_ lose. He wouldn't. He was Kanda Yuu-

Who was currently pressing his 'best friend' into the mattress. Right. Who cared if things didn't add up?

Lavi let out another moan--much louder this time--and was forced to break their kiss, so he could breathe. Only a few moments later--he couldn't take it anymore, and he was _sure_ it was the alcohol's fault--he shouted Yuu's name loudly, unable to hold himself back for another second, and he came hard. All over his friend's hand.

The redhead fell back against the bed, body going limp--and opened his eye, smiling at the Japanese, albeit...rather shyly. "I--thanks, Yuu."

Kanda blinked, and looked down at his hand, then at the boy laying, content and peaceful on his bed. Great. His hand was _dirty_ now. And he really didn't want to wash his sheets tomorrow...

So he lifted his dirtied hand to his lips, and began to lick it clean.

Lavi immediately blushed at the sight of the other boy...licking...that--but really, it wasn't any worse than what he himself had done for Tyki, so why was he so embarrassed..?--and he turned his face away. It was...embarrassing, no matter how he looked at it. Maybe because it was _his_--and yeah... But there was still the alcohol to take into account.

Kanda finished cleaning the release off his hand and turned to the red head, who...currently wasn't looking at him, face flushed as red as his hair. Or redder.

"What?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound like normal, and almost succeeding--crawling up to sit next to the boy, before glancing down at the redhead's still obviously nude lower half.

"Shouldn't you--" He started, but a squeak cut him off, and he turned to look up at the boy's face. _What_...?

Lavi's blush deepened even more, and when he opened his mouth to answer--another squeak came out. Flustered, he furrowed his eyebrows, trying to concentrate on practical speech, and tried again. This time, thankfully, his endeavor proved to be successful.

"I--are you sure...that was okay?" he asked hesitantly, finally returning the older boy's gaze. "We're not gunna be...'weird' after that--are we?"

Kanda blinked at him for a moment, before sighing, and reaching over the side of the bed to grab the boy's pants. "What are you saying, _baka_? We'll only be 'weird', if you think it's weird."

"I...no." Lavi shook his head, grabbing the pants to keep his hands busy, sliding them back up his legs, hips, and buckling the belt before speaking up again. "I don't think it's weird. I mean...with Tyki, and we're still-" He stopped. That wasn't the point.

"No...no, I won't think it's weird. I just...thought Yuu might...b'cuz Yuu don' like being too close ta people, so...but. If Yuu says it's okay, then..." He sighed, closing his eyes, and curling up against Kanda's side. He just wanted to _sleep_...

"I...don't like...being close to people?" Kanda let out a low chuckle, watching as the boy shifted, curling into a ball--a perfect fit against his side. In a matter of seconds, Lavi's chest rose and fell with the lull of sleep, leaving Kanda there, staring up at the ceiling...

"Don't like being too close?"

Well. Yes. That was true. But--didn't the redhead know?--he glanced down at said redhead, and reached out, touching the boy's hair.

"You don't count," he murmured to the silence.

**xoxox**

_**Author's Note: **__And there you have it. A...very, very long chapter to make up (again) for the slight lateness. Hopefully the next chapter will be on time--so I hope you'll be looking forward to it!_

_Have Questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? Send it via review! We'd love to hear from you!_


	5. Halt

_**Author's Note: **__AUGH. So--it's a little over an hour past the deadline--I know--but....rawr. This chapter...is almost as long as Sheryl-sama's magnificent pen0r. Almost. But not quite. And, uhm--I...have been editing all day? -kept getting (*raep'd*) distracted by her current housemates, though- And those...are my excuses? xD  
But yeah, uhm--here you go. Longest chapter yet--by far. Even longer than chapter four--which was the longest chapter before this one--I think? -sorry, hyper and tired at the same time- Erm--yeah. I'mma shut up now, and just--get on with it._

_**Disclaimer: **__Again--we don't own D. Gray-Man. Unfortunately. Or Lady GaGa. We don't own anything here except our plot, and our creative freedom._

_**Warnings For This Chapter:**__ HANGOVERS. O___O, a blowjob, an outrageously troubling Q&A session, Kanda's temper, mentions of drug-use and sexual abuse of a minor, the removal of Lavi's eyepatch, and--a slightly sinister Bookman. O.o_

**Chapter Five  
"****Halt"**

It was morning. It must have been, from the way the sun was now shining so obnoxiously into his eyes. Lavi growled in frustration, and went to roll over--only to find that he couldn't. Sighing softly, he popped his eye open...and found his face nearly pressed against Kanda's chest. His...shirtless...chest. Which was very, _very_ pleasing to look at, by the way. But that wasn't the point-

Suddenly, the memories of the previous night all came rushing back to him in a flood of thought...as well as a splitting headache. Great. Just great. He had a fucking hangover.

"Yuu...ne, Yuu...!" He leaned forward just a tad further, and licked lightly at one of the other male's nipples, causing the Japanese to awaken immediately--and Lavi couldn't have stopped the giggle from leaving his lips if he'd tried.

Kanda was trying to sleep. Had been trying to sleep. Was _failing_ to sleep--when he felt the mattress dip and shift next to him, and when something...wet...licked at his chest, well, he threw the attempt at sleep right back out the proverbial window, and his eyes snapped open to scowl down at the offender.

At first he thought he would see one face--and he almost groaned--but then he saw a head of red hair and that--that was different. He let out a sigh. "What the fuck?"

The redhead next to him burst out into soft peals of laughter, which were really unneeded this early in the morning--but they _were_ quiet, and he knew what that meant. Especially when he forced himself up, and saw the way the boy was holding his forehead-

Then he had the gall to open his fucking mouth and talk.

"S-sorry, Yuu..." he hissed out softly between his fits of laughter. "But...I was trying t'get your attention, and Yuu wouldn't wake up..."

He tried to sit up, but quickly laid back down again, when it caused the violent pounding in his head to grow impossibly worse--and moaned loudly in pain. Which...really didn't help his headache any. "Okay...maybe I should just...lay down again, ne...?"

Though really, he didn't want to. He wanted to get up, walk around, and be _active_. Or annoying. Either option worked just as well, in his opinion. He tried one more time-

Nope. He was staying down.

Kanda let out a sigh, as he watched the redhead's futile attempts at getting up--with no such luck each time. "That's what you get for drinking--_baka_--how much did you have last night?" He thought that question over--the idiot was alive, wasn't he? Well then, scratch that. "Do you even remember what the fuck _happened_ last night?"

"Stop..._yelling_..." Lavi begged, trying in vain to tug a pillow over his head. "But--I had--well, I only remember the first two Margaritas, but...there coulda been more..."

He blushed at the thought of the man's other question, but knew he had to answer. "But--yeah. I remember everything... And--I still don't think it's 'weird'...if only just...a little embarrassing... I...can't remember the details, but I do remember what happened. So, uhm...Yuu...? How much...exactly, did I tell Yuu--last night...?"

"Tell?" Kanda stared at the man in slight disbelief. "Tell about what?"

Or was he just not remembering correctly? "If it's about who the Hell Tyki and this Sheryl guy are, then no. But other than that, you told a lot. But then," he sighed, "what do I know?"

He watched the boy's face contort in confusion--watched that mouth open to ask another pointless question--but he cut him off before he could get there. "Don't you have a phone call to make?"

"I--OH. Oh _fuck_!!"

Maybe, he shouldn't have yelled like that. Not while his head was pounding the way it was--and now, it was pounding worse. "Yeah... Yeah, I gotta call Lenalee."

Pulling out his cell-phone, he quickly hit the speed-dial for Lenalee's number, thankfully remembering to turn the volume way down first. After a few moments, she answered.

/Lavi!? Is that you?/ the voice all but yelled.

"Ahh--not so _loud_, Lena..." he whined, clutching his head tightly in his free hand. "But--yeah, it's me."

Kanda raised an eyebrow at the redheads whine, and sighed, crawling across the bed and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to get you anything?" He knew Lenalee could probably hear him, but with the way the idiot cringed just at the sound of his voice (which he made sure to keep low) he'd definitely need something strong--_especially_ if he was going to last through one of the girl's panicked tirades.

"I--yeah, thanks Yuu. That'd be great~" He smiled brightly at the other boy, feeling more than grateful.

/Oh?/ Lenalee sounded surprised. /Is Kanda-kun there?/

"Actually...I'm at his house," Lavi admitted. "Tyki drove me here...after dinner. Which ended _really_ late. I didn't get here till about 3am, which is--why I didn't call till now."

/Ohh...okay. Well, what is Kanda-kun getting you?/

"Uhm...that? Just--something for my migraine. Uhm...I'm a bit...hungover right now, actually. Which is why I'm at Yuu's place, and not at home..."

He realized too late, that he probably should have waited for the medicine or whatever it was, before he told the girl that part. His poor head...

**--**

Kanda was halfway down the hall when he heard Lavi yelp in obvious pain--it figured he'd slip up, and say something that would induce the rant-of-worry early. But there wasn't much he could do about it. He needed something strong. Kanda _had_ something strong. Not that he'd dare keep it in an obvious place, lest those...brats...find it.

He quickened his pace in any case, and soon he was rummaging through the small fridge he had out in the garage. Sure it barely worked--sure he had gotten a shitload of questions asked for _why_ he wanted it (it was Daisya's old one--and it had been when--he cut that that thought off), but he had it. And inside it was the thing he knew would do the trick.

So he took one simple white pill--it looked harmless, like Tylenol; he _knew_ the idiot wouldn't ask. Or wouldn't, at least right away--and tucked it into his palm, before hurrying back into the house, and into the kitchen* to grab the idiot a glass of water before heading back to the room. He was barely halfway down the hall when he heard Lavi explaining something hurriedly and frantically--like he was trying to calm the girl down (Kanda smirked at the thought), but when he stepped in the room a few seconds later--he looked relieved. Smiling happily, and extending his hand for the trusted white pill that would do the trick.

"Here," he held the pill out and the idiot hastily took it--gulping down the water just as quickly before getting back to the conversation at hand--Kanda sitting next to him just because, well, it was amusing, wasn't it? To hear Lenalee so panicked for once.

No, that wasn't just a little mean, was it?

"I--no, Lenalee, I'm _fine_. Or at least--I will be, once you stop yelling at me."

/But...you don't even _know_ the guy!/ Lenalee went on, vehemently. /And you still let him buy you alcohol, and...and...do stuff like _that_? While you were drunk, no less!/

"Gawd, Lena...can it, will ya? You're makin' my head hurt worse than it was _before_! And really, you're over-reacting. Sheryl didn't do anything _that_ bad. Just--y'know--not even as much as Tyki. So--yeah. Stop worrying. It's not like I was raped, or something, right? I'm fine. And I'll _be_ fine, when my headache goes away--which you are not helping. Yuu, help? Please? _You_ talk to her!"

And he passed the phone off to the unprepared Japanese.

Kanda blinked, eyes wide as Lavi flopped back on the bed and jerked a pillow over his eyes. Wait--wait--wait-

He stared at the phone in disbelief. What was he supposed to do again? What?

It wasn't until Lenalee's voice came through on the other end (when he held it up to his ear), that he fully comprehended the situation.

/Is Lavi telling the truth, Kanda-kun? Nothing happened with Tyki and Sheryl? He's okay?/ The girl's voice was loud and high, perfectly portraying her obvious concern for the redhead--as well as slight distrust. After all, they both knew that Lavi had a tendency to lie and say things were okay, when they were really far from. Like that time Bookman had broken his hand...

Lavi, meanwhile, had gone back to curling up into a tight ball on Kanda's bed, and trying to cover his head with a pillow.

Kanda let out a sigh, and watched as the redhead curled up even more. "I don't know, honestly." He heard the girl on the other end take a loud gasp, readying herself for another long tirade, but he cut her off before she could. "I don't think anything happened, though. Or else he'd act...different...when he came here. So--whatever it was--it wasn't anything he can't get over." He tactfully left out the short spiel about how Lavi thought the man (or both men) were 'hot'...and that--he had probably _let_ them do whatever the heck it was. She didn't need to know that--if Lavi hadn't just told her already

/Well...okay then. As much as I want to, I know we can't always trust Lavi when it comes to 'bad' stuff, but...I do trust your judgment, and though I hate to admit it--no matter how much he talks to me, you know him better than any of us./ She sighed audibly from the other end. /Uhm...if he...does do anything 'weird'...please tell me, okay? Because I doubt he will on his own, and he's--he's better at it...than I am. I don't think I'd be able to pick it up myself, if something really _was_ wrong with him.../

"Really?" He practically heard her flinch on the other end of the phone. "Tch, yeah, I'll tell you."

'Depending on what it is.' He glanced at the redhead again. "Right now, he's going back to sleep. He woke me up at 3am in the fucking morning--and it's only," he glanced at the clock, "9am. I think we're _both_ going back to sleep."

Before she could say another word, he flipped the phone shut and tossed it back to the redhead. It hit the pillow covering his face, and he let out a groan. "There, I fucking talked to her," he ground out, crawling over the redhead when he realized _just_ one little thing...

"Now give me back my fucking pillow."

Lavi groaned, and hugged the pillow tighter--and rolling to face away from his Japanese friend, to better protect his 'prize'.

"But then--what am _I_ gunna use..?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low so as to not disrupt his not-yet-faded migraine. "Unless--unless Yuu wants to be my pillow..."

He giggled lightly at that. He really _did_ have too much fun playing around with Kanda's name.

Kanda frowned, and sighed, trying to take the pillow again. "I'm not going to be your fucking pillow. Now let up." He leaned to the side, trying to grab as much of the pillow as he could, before tugging.

"Goddamnit, Lavi," he growled out, and the man giggled again, before pouting and repeating his last statement.

"Nope~" Lavi whispered. Though, contrary to his utter refusal to follow the command, he let the pillow go...and latched himself onto Kanda's waist, instead, closing his eye, and inhaling deeply.

"Yuu smell nice..."

Kanda sucked in his breath, when he felt the other latch onto his waist and inhale. Suddenly, he felt absurdly warm in that. One. Area. And--he looked down at the mop of red hair. "Really?"

Maybe his next series of actions couldn't really be blamed entirely on the redhead, but as he leaned down and kissed the top of the boy's head, he didn't quite care about that.

It was when Lavi pulled back to look at him, green eye slightly wide--mouth open to say _something_, that he decided he wanted to kiss him now. Just to get him to shut up.

So he did.

The idiot really _did_ talk too much.

Lavi couldn't stop the small squeak of surprise from leaving his lips, though the sound was lost between them. Kanda--was kissing...him? Kanda was _initiating_ it? That--what--wow. Okay then.

After the momentary shock wore off, Lavi allowed his eye to fall shut, and he relaxed, responding to the kiss slowly. He parted his lips just slightly, inviting Yuu to deepen the kiss if he so wished, but not wanting the older boy to feel pressured to do so.

Kanda felt his lips twitch as the idiot opened his mouth, just slightly. Following suit (not because of the pleasant tingles it was causing up and down his spine. Like last night, without the annoyance), he darted his tongue out, running it along the boy's lower lip, before slipping it inside.

Lavi felt the heat rise on his cheeks, and not just from the moan that had caught him off guard, too late to be stopped. He had realized something.

Kanda's tongue...was in his mouth. And he was sober. And _Lavi_ was sober. Which meant that they were sober, and kissing. Like this. Lavi was almost convinced he was dreaming, if it weren't for his headache. But--this was nice. And it distracted him quite well, from the pain in his skull.

And so, he decided to kiss back a little harder.

Kanda felt the added pressure against his lips, and resisted the urge to smirk, as Lavi pulled him closer--and closer--and soon he was pinning the boy to the mattress very much like he had the night before (well, okay, not the mattress. The floor. But what did it matter?) .

But they were still kissing--lips held in a solid lip-lock he didn't necessarily want to break. Which was strange, just a little bit, because they were both sober and this wasn't a _favor_, and--it was his 'best friend'.

And unlike the night before, he wished he didn't need to breathe, because that meant breaking away--that meant actually opening your eyes to see the glazed look in the other's...and he hated how his voice sounded as he panted out (because it would be even weirder to just have _silence_), "Is your head...better...?"

He knew his words were slurred, but he also knew the drug--medicine--should be kicking in now.

Now but it didn't seem like Lavi cared too much about that with his next words, and the fact that his hands were traveling down his back towards--oh.

_Oh_.

"Yeah...it's fine. But--it's not just the medicine that's makin' me feel better, Yuu..." Playfully, he lightly gave Kanda's ass a squeeze, but the other didn't seem to mind. In fact, he almost seemed to--to--like it...? Lavi blinked, and did it again--smirking wickedly when the Japanese gave him a heated glare.

"Ne...Yuu?" He waited till the other boy's expression softened a bit, then continued. "Why don't ya just--I dunno, shut up an' kiss me again? That was...really nice..."

And damnit, he wasn't supposed to _blush_ when he said that. What's worse, Kanda noticed.

Kanda smirked lightly as the boy's face heated. As if he hadn't asked for a kiss before--though Kanda wasn't stupid. This time...felt different. Maybe it was the not-being-drunk thing, or the fact that it was his bed and not the couch, but--well-

He didn't need to say a word, as he leaned in and captured the boy's lips in another kiss, immediately deepening it when the boy didn't voice any objections--adding his own edge of fire that made them both shiver.

Lavi whined softly into Kanda's mouth, wrapping his arms around the Asian's neck, and tugging him closer. He ran a hand through the other's hair, fingers tangling in the soft locks to get a better hold of him...just in case he decided--but no. Kanda wouldn't stop. He wouldn't pull away from him, not now. Not after all this. And Lavi had to believe that.

He felt a shiver run down his spine, and his back arched of it's own accord, inadvertently causing him to press his chest against Kanda's--only Lavi's shirt in the way of skin-on-skin contact.

Lavi felt the lips against his own twist into a smirk, and--reluctantly--he pulled back slightly, just enough to speak, though their lips were still brushing together with every word.

"You're...enjoying this, aren't you...?" the redhead whispered the question--or was it, even?--softly, his eye only opening halfway to look at Kanda. "You aren't just...humoring me, Yuu want it too."

Kanda scowled at that. "Stop with the fucking name puns."

Then he did something he thought would be amusing--and ground his hips lightly against Lavi's own. "_Yes_, I'm enjoying this--ba-ka, what do you think?" As if physical evidence wasn't enough.

Lavi let out a loud whine of pleasure, and pushed right back against Kanda, before he could even think to stop himself. And even if he had thought to, he wouldn't have wanted to. It just--it felt too _good_.

"I--_Yuu_...!!" he gasped, before pressing his lips against the Japanese' own again, while running his hands up and down across the smooth chest.

Kanda shivered lightly into the touch, as Lavi continued to buck up against him. Then he got yet _another_ grand idea, and sat up, increasing the force before dragging Lavi into a sitting position as well, and grabbing the hem of his shirt--jerking it over the idiot's head, before tossing it off somewhere in the room.

And no, he didn't know if the idiot had any other weaknesses. No. He didn't. He just leaned forward again, and nipped lightly at the boy's earlobe--not hard enough to hurt, but enough for the boy to let out yet _another_ gasp and cling to him again.

Lavi inhaled sharply, and then released the air in a heady moan, slouching forward slightly to lean against Kanda, his arms wrapped around his friend's shoulders. Damnit...why did _every_ guy he made out with, have to go for his ears? (Then again, Kanda was one out of only two men he'd been..._this_ close with...)

He leaned his head further to the side, in any case, not about to complain. However, he bit down on his lip lightly, to keep himself from making _too_ much noise...even though he knew Kanda would probably like it if he did.

Kanda heard the sharp gasp, and how it should have been a moan--but wasn't. That was annoying. Very. He pulled back, and glared (half-heartedly) at the redhead. "If you're going to make noise--make noise. No one's going to hear you but me."

Lavi blushed, and nodded, muttering a barely audible apology. And so, when Kanda went back to his 'task' on Lavi's ear, and then his neck, the redhead didn't try to stop the whimper that left his lips, nor the sharp hitching of his breath, when he felt teeth against his collarbone.

"Y-Yuu..." he groaned, hating how he stuttered the other's name. He'd have to work on that, later.

Kanda smirked inwardly at the way the idiot couldn't even say his _name_ without a stutter. But that just made it better in this case, as he trailed his tongue down the other male's chest, to his naval, swirling it there, and enjoying the way the boy's hips bucked.

'Should I ask...?' he wondered faintly, as he began tugging on the boy's belt buckle, looking up at Lavi through his bangs, and seeing the blush that settled there, hot on his cheeks.

Lavi blinked down at Kanda, his eye wide with surprise, and…apprehension? He knew he shouldn't be afraid of Kanda--he _wasn't_ afraid of Kanda--but still...when someone went for his pants, no matter who it was, he couldn't help but freeze up a bit.

"...Yuu...? What're ya doin'..?" he asked slowly, and he hated how tense his voice sounded.

'Calm down, Lavi,' he told himself. 'Yuu won't hurt ya. He never would.'

Kanda let out a soft sigh, ignoring how Lavi shivered as it brushed against exposed skin. "Something you'll like," he murmured instead, unzipping the zipper, before working both the pants and underwear down his thighs as far as they could go with the boy still sitting.

When the redhead didn't move after a few seconds (not seeming to get that he needed to help at least somewhat), he barked out the order--minding to keep his voice as soft as he could--"Lift your hips."

Lavi let out a shaky sigh, and nodded. Bracing his hands against the mattress on either side of him, he lifted himself up off the bed, blushing heavily while allowing Kanda to pull his remaining clothes off.

Yeah, so--Kanda'd already seen him naked. But, he'd been _drunk_ then, so he hadn't _cared_. Which--made right now all the more embarrassing for him.

The redhead easily complied after the soft order, and soon he was lying stark naked, and--no, Kanda wasn't looking. Because the baka _had been drunk_ last time. Not that the flush on the boy's skin (from embarrassment and arousal) wasn't arousing, but...he didn't want him to be embarrassed. Not really.

So he crawled over the redhead again, and placed a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth, "Calm down," he murmured against his lips--then, for good measure, added on, "And don't fucking pull my hair."

He would certainly be confused at that--he was sure. But what did a little mindscrew hurt anyone? He licked his lips and moved down, suspending himself over the boy's erection--which was half hard, and steadily getting stiffer--and licking the tip with his tongue.

Heh.

Lavi had just been about to ask the other what he'd meant--why would he pull Kanda's hair?--then _oh_-

-that was why.

Lavi whined loudly, and would have bucked his hips--purely on instinct, mind--had it not been for Kanda's arm laying across his hips, pinning him down. He squeezed his eye shut as tight as he possibly could, quite nearly overwhelmed by the sensation of the other boy's mouth on...'that'...place. He now understood why Tyki had been so--but no. He wouldn't think about Tyki. Not now--not while he was here, in Yuu's bed--with _Yuu_.

"Yuu--ahh..!!"

It was only because he had done this before, that he had learned--the hips. Keep them pinned. He didn't want to gag--Kanda Yuu didn't _gag_. So he wouldn't. And he didn't--he just hoped Lavi would keep his hands out of his hair, as he took all of the boy in his mouth (no doubt surprising him, with the way his whines grew louder--and he shifted, trying to sit up), grazing the sensitive organ with his teeth, alternating between that and light suction a moment later.

_Goddamn_. He liked his control. He had it, yes, but with those _moans_, he knew he was going to lose it soon--and--well--he shoved thoughts of what he'd get the redhead to do to _him_ out of his head, and instead focused on pleasing the other male.

Because he was Kanda Yuu. And he could.

Lavi almost--_almost_--reached for Kanda's hair, just on impulse, but his hand quickly returned to his side the moment he realized what he was doing. He wouldn't put it past the Asian to _bite_ him, if he didn't follow instructions. But-

-"H-how?" He gasped out, tossing his head back. _How_ did Kanda get so--so good at this? Sure, Lavi had never received a blowjob before this, but still--he knew--this was _talent_.

"How--y-you--so _good_..!!" he whined, unable to even do so much as form a full sentence. Damn, this was embarrassing...

Kanda let out a low chuckle--with Lavi's member _still_ in his mouth, just to tease him--but didn't answer. Not right away, anyways. He ran his tongue along the vein underneath, stroking the inside of Lavi's thigh with his free hand, before pulling away with a wet 'pop'.

"Che--what makes you think I haven't done this before?"

Not that he wanted to divulge in too much detail. Not now--not _ever_ if he could help it. It wasn't something the redhead needed to know, anyway. "Just enjoy it," he tacked on--when he saw the idiots mouth open again, and--for good measure--went back to sucking, just the tip this time.

"Wha-_ohh_!!" Lavi cut his own question off--before he could finish even the first word--with a drawn-out moan, his hands making tight fists in the sheets beneath him. He'd been going to ask 'What? When have you done this?', but...the words wouldn't come now, and the redhead had no delusions that Kanda hadn't done 'that' on purpose.

So...Yuu had done this before, had he? And he didn't seem to want Lavi asking questions about it...did that mean it was bad? But--oh well. He would have to wonder more about that later, because currently, Lavi was finding it very, very difficult to use his head. That is--the one that _wasn't_ in Kanda's mouth.

It seemed his little plan worked perfectly, as he continued to turn the redhead's brain into a pile of mush that it usually seemed to be on most days when the idiot--well--was acting 'idiotic'. It only took a few sucks later for him to taste the salty precum, and to feel Lavi's body quake with the need for release--pent up frustration and--he _almost_ thought about being evil again and making the man wait.

But he decided against it, grazing his teeth against the flesh before picking a random tune (of a song that he had only heard few times--one of which had been for the video. It confused him to no end, how that woman could wear such _skimpy_ outfits. But at least they had a point), and starting to hum.

Lavi squirmed in place--unable to do anything more, with Kanda holding him down like that--and let out another pitiful whimper. He was close--he _hated_ how close he was already--and that fact humiliated him to no end. He didn't _want_ to cum yet...but he didn't think he could hold it back much longer.

"Yuu, I--I'm _close_..." he moaned, and his voice broke at the end, showing the other male perfectly well just _how_ close the redhead was. It was only a matter of time, now-

Kanda let out a snort, pulling away just for a fraction of a second to get a few words in. "Isn't that the _point_?" Then, in a method he remembered all too well, he licked the head, running his tongue along the slit--and barely had time to close his mouth over the head and deep-throat him before the redhead gave a coarse shout, and his mouth was filled with white.

And now he _was_ very thankful he had done this before, considering he knew how to swallow, and lick clean, and--Lavi still had that question shining in his lone green eye.

Like this meant anything.

Lavi slowly came to his senses, blinking rapidly as he met Kanda's gaze, his face heating up immediately. Then, he looked away.

"I--thanks, Yuu..." he whispered, a soft smile on his face. The tone of his voice was nothing but genuine. "You--this--and then last night.... Yuu didn't have to, but--you did. And I appreciate it, even if I don't get _why_... I've never given you anything, but grief--nothing to earn 'this'."

The redhead tried to hold back a yawn then, but failed, which only caused the red in his cheeks to darken.

Kanda sighed and pushed himself up, wiping his mouth just to make sure nothing leaked out.

"Do you have to? This..." He shook his head, not--really remembering where he had been going with that train of thought--instead, crawling up to lay next to the redhead. "If you're tired, then go to sleep. Or else that makes me look like a liar." He ran a hand through Lavi's unruly hair, enjoying (though he wouldn't say it) when the man nuzzled into his hand.

He still had the question in his eye when he looked back up at him, and that? Well--"You don't have to do anything. I won't make you."

"I--I could try...later?" Lavi offered, his eye already beginning to slide shut of its own accord. "But, right now...I'm really tired, Yuu."

He let out a soft sigh, and snuggled against Kanda's side, burying his face in the other's neck. He wouldn't bother with his pants, for now--after all, it's not like they really made much a difference, at this point. But-

"But, I _do_ hafta ask...why were ya hummin' Lady GaGa, of all things? Don't get me wrong--I love her to bits, and 'Bad Romance' is probably my favorite song of hers, but--I wouldn't have thought you'd know it..."

Kanda's eyes widened in surprise at Lavi's question. Well. That--that--was--"Che, of course I've heard it."

And then he burst out laughing.

******A Few Hours Later******

Lavi slowly cracked his eyes open, and--it must have been a few hours later, because the sun wasn't so painfully bright anymore. Or--it just wasn't shining through the window.

"Yuu...?" he whispered, but received no answer. Then, he noticed that the only thing keeping him warm now was a _blanket_. Not a body. His entire face pulling into a scowl, he turned over, seeing the bed empty, and the door slightly open. He sighed to himself, quite literally rolled out of the bed--Yuu's bed--and pulled on his boxers and pants. Running a hand through his mop of red hair, he pushed the door open the rest of the way, and stepped out of the room, on a mission to find his friend...and maybe some food, too.

The redhead hadn't even gotten to the end of the hallway, when he heard Kanda's voice--was he on the phone? He stopped just before the end of the hall, deciding to wait, and listen. Sure, he felt bad eaves-dropping on his best friend, but...he was curious. And besides--it could be important.

Kanda didn't like this. Not one bit. "So you're telling me you lost the shipment?"

/_No we didn't_~/ He cringed at the loudness of the other's voice. /We just, uh, I mean--we didn't! We swear!/

"Then why the fuck are you calling me, if you have some?" he ground out, rubbing his forehead. "And just so you know--I'll change my number again if you two _keep calling me_."

/B-But Yuu!/

/We love you!/

He heard clattering in the background, along with a curse from one of the two. "Tch, of course you do." Sarcasm practically dripped from his voice. "Is that it?"

/You mean you'll let us come over?/

"No."

/B-Bu--/

"I have a guest over," he replied simply. "Fuck no."

/Is it that redhea--/ He never heard the end of the sentence--he had already hung up.

"Tch, idiots." He turned on his heels and sighed, picking up the glass of diluted vodka he had poured himself as a wake-me-up, before stopping, and scowling. "You're up, aren't you?"

Finally, Lavi stepped into the living room, a slight frown on his face, though more from confusion than anything else. "Yeah...I _just_ woke up, actually. Like--a few minutes ago. Who was on the phone?"

He stepped closer to Kanda, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand, and--once he got close enough to Kanda to smell it-

"Is that...straight vodka? Eww..." He wrinkled his nose distastefully. "How can you stand that? Actually, never mind that--where do you _get_ it?"

Kanda blinked and looked down at the glass.

"Does it matter?" Though he knew. Yes, yes it _did_. The beer was understandable, because Lavi would actually _drink_ it. But vodka? He'd have to come up with _something_ to explain that. Something-

"Yeah. It does," Lavi insisted, his eye dimming slightly. Yuu was hiding something from him. Yuu was...

"But, I'll let that one go, if you answer my other question. Who was on the phone? What was this 'shipment' you were talking about?" He was almost afraid to ask, but--he continued, his worry expressed full-force in his one visible eye. "What kinda shit have you gotten yourself into?"

Kanda let out a biting laugh. "What kind of 'shit'? Why do you always assume it's something bad when I don't say anything?" He cocked his head the side, and watched as Lavi tensed--and he wanted so bad to bring up the fact that really, Lavi was being a hypocrite--asking him to tell him things, when he himself wouldn't leak a drop. Even though the situations were entirely different.

"Che, it's still too early for this." Even though it wasn't, and Lavi was about to point out this very obvious fib when--suddenly--said redhead's cell-phone went off.

Lavi had just been about to retort, when his eye widened in surprise, and horror. Where was his phone? If that was who he thought it was, and Kanda-

"Yuu! What're ya doin'? Gimme my-_hey_!!!"

He could only watch in anticipation, as Kanda flipped his cell-phone open, and held it to his ear, a scowl on his handsome face. 'Please, please don't let it be him...'

Kanda scowled at the shocked expression on the other's face when he grabbed the cell-phone before he did, and answered, "Who the fuck is this?"

/Well _someone_ sounds like a morning person./ He froze. It was a male's voice.

"Who is this?" he asked again.

/You're Kanda, aren't you? Goodness, Lavi said you were the rude one./

He shot a glare at Lavi who shifted uncomfortably. "Then you must be Tyki." Lavi flinched.

/Why yes, yes I am./

"Why the fuck are you calling?"

/Why on _Earth_ are you answering Lavi's cell-phone?/

"He's calling to talk to _me_, Yuu," Lavi growled out, reaching for the phone. But Kanda pulled it away, holding a hand out to stop him. Lavi did--stop, that is--but his glare intensified, not at all diluted by his lack of a full set of eyes. "Yuu. Gimme the phone."

Kanda glared, "Che, _no_."

/No?/

"Not you. The baka Usagi."

There was a pause, then chuckle on the other end of the line. /I'm assuming he's awake now?/

"If he is?"

/May I speak with him?/

Lavi was making his way around the counter now, to grab the phone again, but Kanda took a few steps back and--well--crap. There was another counter there.

And Lavi was taller than him. Damnit.

"Che, no." And then--just like that--he snapped the phone shut.

"Well," Lavi began, coming to stop a mere foot away from Japanese, "someone's being a bit of an asshole. First, you're keeping secrets from me, when I'm just _worried_ about you, and ya _lie_ about it--now ya answer a call on _my_ phone, from _my_ friend, wantin' to talk to _me_? What is _wrong_ with you, Yuu? Gimme my goddamn phone, so I can call him back!"

Kanda scowled. "And you think _I'm_ the only one keeping secrets? Look in the fucking _mirror_, baka! You are too--and so is Lenalee, and Allen--"

He lowered his voice at the surprised expression on the other's face, "And you don't think it's fucking annoying, do you? You think it's just _grand_ to have everyone all worried. To only tell one person. How do you think _that_ feels?"

Unbeknownst to Lavi, he had slipped the redhead's cell-phone into his back pocket during the conversation, now he was sure he wouldn't grab it.

Not that he was worried about the fucking phone, in any case.

"I--damnit, Yuu--_yes_, I keep secrets! But only because I _have_ to!! Because people could be in _danger_ if I told--myself included. I keep secrets because I don't want you to get hurt, an' I'm _scared_! Okay? I'm. Scared." He spun around, facing the opposite wall, but didn't move from his spot. Then, rubbing his temples with his fingers, he continued, though softer this time. He sounded almost...regretful.

"I...the only reason I told Lenalee, was because she called me on it. She figured it out, an' _she_ brought it up. She wouldn't give up until I told her--and she told me a few of her own secrets, first. It was only fair, after that. Besides, by then--I knew she would understand the importance of it, because she could _relate_. Maybe her secrets aren't as...severe as mine--but she understands."

"Yuu...I've already said an' done things that I could be _killed_ for, if Gramps ever found out. And he'd have every right to, because I swore an oath, damnit! And I broke it! And I don't--I don't want to get anyone else involved, who isn't involved _already_. I don't wanna put Yuu in danger, too."

The redhead didn't even seem to realize the full impact of all he'd just admitted--too pissed off, and frustrated, and confused--and yes, as he'd told Kanda--scared. He was frightened out of his wits.

Kanda stood there for a moment, face blank as he watched Lavi's back--unmoving, solid, but...shaking. Ever so slightly--barely noticeable. Because he understood that--_Goddamnit_, he understood it. 'Don't tell or someone dies'--he had heard those very same words before. He had--he-

"Lavi."

The redhead turned to him, not even full aware, from how unfocused his eye was. That wasn't good. He didn't _want_ that. The idiot should be focused on the here, and now, and--

He raised his hand, full ready to punch them man--he even saw his eye flash for a second, in realization, before cringing shut, waiting for the impact--but didn't.

"Baka. You don't think I _get_ that? I'm not a fucking idiot. I don't need you to _tell me_ those things. Just..." He exhaled. "Don't think I don't fucking worry either."

"I--Yuu, I'm...I'm sorry. I never...meant to hurt you. Or make you upset, or pissed off, or worried, or whatever. I just--wanted you to be happy, an' _safe_. Ya know that--right?"

The instant he felt the tears brimming in his eye, Lavi looked down, his bangs hiding his face from view. After a moment, his shoulders began shaking, then a bit harder. His breath hitched in his throat, and he turned back around, taking a step away.

"I'm--I'm real sorry, Yuu. I'll...give ya some space for a bit, okay? Jus'--I'll be in your room if ya need me." He nodded, more for himself, than anyone else, and took another step, fully intending to leave the room.

Except that wasn't what Kanda wanted.

"Baka." He reached out, fully intent to grab that shoulder. "Che--are you _crying_?" he asked softly, when the man had frozen in place. "Why are you crying?" Stupid question. He wasn't supposed to care that much. He told him-

He told himself..._what_?

"Che...you really are an idiot. Fine. I'll--" He'll _what_?--"We'll call it even. Ask me." And he hoped the idiot knew what he was talking about.

Lavi's eye widened slightly, and he finally--he _finally_ turned around to face Kanda, wiping the tears from his eye with the back of his hand. "I--okay then."

He sighed deeply, blinked a few times to clear his vision up, and then, "Who was on the phone with you? When I woke up? An' what's this 'shipment'?"

He hoped Yuu would answer him...because he _did_ understand the other boy's point. It hurt, when someone you cared about kept secrets from you. Especially when it makes you worry about them.

Kanda stiffened. Of course he'd ask _that_--what exactly had he been _expecting_? Him to ask about who took his virginity? (Not that he'd answer that one either).

"Just...old friends--they're twins. And brats. Used to hang out with them, before I transferred. They somehow found my fucking number again, and have been calling me non-fucking-stop ever since." That--that was safe enough, wasn't it? Yeah.

For the second part, "The shipment was for someone else--apparently they promised this guy they'd order him something, but it got lost--or stolen--or they'll find it under their fucking bed in like 2 hours, if they actually look--they're getting heat about it, don't know _why_ they're calling _me_ though." He looked to the side, and sighed. "Like I'd be able to help them with it."

And he wasn't quite sure if he convinced the man. From the slight scowl on his face...he didn't quite have him. Or at least, there would be more questions--and he _couldn't_ say more than that. Absolutely couldn't.

"Che, anything else?"

"Yes. Everything else, because you're still lying to me."

He sighed, and shook his head. Who the Hell did Yuu think he was fooling? Surely, he didn't--actually think Lavi would believe that? Did he? Suddenly, Lavi reached forward and grabbed Kanda's hand, and pulled him past the counter, and back into the living room. The redhead sat down on the couch, and patted the empty spot next to him.

"Tell ya what, Yuu. For every question ya answer honestly, I'll answer one of yours in return. Honestly. No matter what it is. But anything and everything we say here, stays between us. No telling _anyone_. Does that sound reasonable to you?"

Kanda stiffened.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' He knew the man would find out. Of _course_ he would.

He let the man drag him to the couch though, because quite honestly, he had no fucking clue what to expect next. As the redhead let go of his hand, and sat on the couch--for a moment he thought of bolting, but then when the idiot voiced his...suggestion...to the...dilemma...he--couldn't quite say no, could he?

So he sighed, and sat down next to him. Stiff, and ramrod straight. "It stays here?" Because the 'anything' didn't really matter as much. The redhead gave a nod. "Fine. Ask away."

Lavi managed a small smile, but it didn't quite reach his eye. He did, however, grab at Kanda's hand, and squeeze it, not moving his own hand after - he hoped that wasn't too much?

"Okay, so--I can sorta believe that those...twins...are old friends. But that 'shipment' business? I want the truth about that. What is it, who's it from, and who's it for. And what does it have to do with Yuu?"

Kanda let out a sigh. "Che, fine--that? Heh." He tried to jerk his hand out of the redhead's grip, but gave up halfway through, opting to look at the man's eyes instead. If he gave him eye contact didn't that mean he'd be more believable? He'd like to think so.

"It's an 'illegal substance' that they'll probably get jail time for _if_ they're found out. They were asking me to hide it--and who it's for? A shitload of people." He exhaled, ignoring the way Lavi's mouth opened. "Now I get to ask you a fucking question, don't I? Fine then--how long?"

Lavi nodded. He still wasn't _so_ sure, but--the story did make perfect sense, and sounded legible. Plus...Yuu hadn't broken eye-contact with him for even a second. As for _his_ question, however-

"'How long'...what?" He blinked, not comprehending what the other meant. There were plenty of things Kanda could be referring to, and Lavi didn't want to go and give an answer for the wrong question, if he didn't need to.

Kanda sighed, and broke eye contact for half a second--just to blink. "How long have you kept that mask up?"

Lavi paused--obviously trying to decide how to answer. He could try to soften it up--take longer to do so, but ease Yuu into it...or he could be blunt, and straight to the point. He decided to go with the second option.

"My entire life. At least--as much of it as I can remember."

Kanda scowled, then sighed. "Really." But he didn't question it, because that itself was another question he could ask. So he turned his gaze back to Lavi, and said, "Fine then--your turn."

"Where do you get the alcohol?"

Kanda blinked at the simplistic question. "There's a small shop right outside of town that sells it for dirt cheap, and doesn't check IDs." He paused for a moment. "Unless it's a special occasion and I have to go back home for the weekend. _Then_ I just filch it from Tiedoll--he always has alcohol on hand, and doesn't give a fuck if I drink it since I'm not a drunkard."

"'Not a drunkard'...right." Lavi seemed unconvinced--which he was--as he pointed to the glass of _straight_ vodka still in Kanda's hand. "It's...11:47am, and you have _that_. Uh-huh. Suuuuuure..."

He shook his head, laughing softly. "But...anyways. Your turn."

"It's the thought that counts," Kanda ground out, taking a sip of said vodka, just to prove his glorious point. Then--coughing and placing it down on the coffee table, "Fine then--so you've had this mask up for nearly your whole life...when did it start slipping? Or rather, _why_?"

"...."

Lavi _really_ didn't want to answer this one. And it was apparent, from the expression on his face. But--a promise was a promise. And Yuu was his very first friend--his _best_ friend. But would he _want_ to know...that the reason was him?

"...When--it was when I met Yuu. When I started to _care_, even though I didn't want to, and never had before. B'cuz...you were different."

Kanda blinked. "W...ait...what? But--you fucking met me at the carnival--thanks to Lenalee dragging you along that one time--and you fucking nearly knocked me _off_..." Lavi's expression didn't change, though.

"...Never mind, I'll ask...that later. Your turn again." He took the glass again, and took a gulp, not just a sip--he could feel Lavi's lone gaze on him, though, and maybe the idiot was worried, but whatever.

"Well?"

"Where did you learn to...?" Lavi trailed off, blushing brightly, and then it was more than obvious what he was getting at.

Kanda blinked, and cocked his head to the side. "I won't answer a half-asked question."

"Fine," Lavi half-snapped, his cheeks growing even brighter. "Where did ya learn to give head like that?"

Kanda raised his eyebrow at the flushed cheeks. "I told you I wasn't a virgin, didn't I? I learned through that. As for where--in a fucking bedroom where shit like that takes place."

Lavi growled, and clenched his fist--the hand _not_ holding onto Kanda's, of course. "That--that's too vague! You need to clarify."

But when Kanda shook his head, Lavi sighed, dejectedly. "Fine, go on. But I know what my next question is."

Kanda's lips twitched, just a little. "Of course you do." It was almost mocking, except _not_. "Fine then--you said I'm the one who fucking made you care--why am I 'different'?"

Now Lavi was _really_ blushing.

Well, damn it all.

"...You were my first crush. Ever."

Kanda felt his face flush. "Wha--che." he just filed it away for another question, and grabbed the alcohol again--sending Lavi a silent look that said pretty much what he could have, as he took another sip of the vodka, and wondered if Lavi would let him get up to get some more.

Lavi grinned, spurred on by no longer being the only one blushing. Which helped him to blush a little less. But damnit, still more than Yuu.

"So. This 'bedroom'. Whose was it? Same person who made you 'not a virgin'?"

Kanda sighed. "Pervert." But he knew he had to answer the question. "Whose bedroom? Someone you don't know, and no."

Lavi grumbled lightly, but accepted the answer, nonetheless. He knew it was the best he'd get, on _this_ particular matter.

"Well--your turn, then."

Kanda was almost surprised the man didn't ask any other questions about it--but then, if there was something he wanted to avoid...it was name use. Pushing that aside, though, he knew exactly what he was going to ask.

"I was your first crush? _Why_?" He bit back his next words, but somehow--yes, he'd get them in because--because--they...Lavi...had a crush on him. It was--he cut the thought off, and waited for an answer

"Phhht. Ya think _I_ know? I never expected it to happen--it just did," he grumbled, shaking his mop of red hair.

"Before Yuu, I'd never been attracted to a single person in my whole life. I didn't think of people as people--just...animate objects to be observed, recorded, and then left behind. I _hated_ people. But...then I met Yuu, and I started to really _care_ about you. And that scared me. Which is--honestly?--that's why I was such an annoying bitch to you back then. I thought if I could make Yuu hate me, then I could hate you too. But obviously, it didn't work--on either of us."

"I can tell ya one thing, though. Even if I _had_ predicted I'd eventually develop feelings for someone, I'd never have expected to be gay. Which just proves the whole 'Only a fool expects the expected'."

"A 'fool', huh?"

For some reason, Kanda couldn't wipe that soft smile off his face. "I wonder who's the bigger fool?" He shook his head at Lavi's questioning glance. "Thank you, though. It explains why you-visited me...in the hospital. But anyway...it's your turn now."

"Alright. Well...this is somethin' I've been wondering about for years now, but I couldn't ask, for--well, obvious reasons."

He sighed, and looked down. "Why _didn't_ it work? My ploys to make you hate me, I mean. Or, well--if Yuu _did_ hate me, why don't you anymore?"

Kanda gave him an obvious look. "Che, because you were faking it. It was easy to see." He smirked lightly at Lavi's shocked expression. "Though you _were_ annoying. Sometimes."

"I--Well...!!" Lavi huffed indignantly, and shook his head. Then, he mumbled grudgingly, "...Your turn."

Kanda smirked ever so slightly at the man's flushed face, but wrote it off for his own question. But what to ask?

Ah, yes. "You said you told Lenalee about...your 'Bookman duties' right? Then why didn't you tell her about Tyki?"

Not that he couldn't think of a perfectly logical excuse as to why to keep that information hidden from Lenalee (the girl would freak out regardless of what poorly made mask she was wearing), but he wanted to hear it from the man's own mouth.

"I--honestly, I don't know. Just--I know it would worry her. How I...am with them. She'd say it's 'irresponsible'," he grumbled, knowing the girl would actually be _right_, "and just...lecture me more than usual. I didn't want to deal with that, nor did I want to make her worry. And plus--if she knew what we were doing, she'd be...checking up on me. Constantly. And it would get annoying reeaaalllyy quickly, because then I wouldn't be able to do _anything_ without an interruption."

Kanda nodded his head. It's what he'd been expecting, in any case. "Knowing her--mask or no mask--she would." Is that why you come here? But he left that last question unasked, adding it to the growing pile, before shifting and reaching towards his glass again--finishing off what was left with an irritating huff. "Your turn."

"Well--hmm..." He paused to think a moment, before something Kanda had said, hit him. Kanda had said 'Bookman duties'. Kanda _knew_.

"Wait--you know? How long have you known? And why didn't you say anything sooner, if you'd figured it out?"

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck would you have done _had_ I said anything?" he wondered. "When did I find out? Fuck, I don't know--it took a few years, but I guess when you stopped acting like you hated me." He almost wanted to laugh at the shocked expression on the other's face. "What? I'm not Lenalee--you don't have to fucking _tell me_ anything."

Lavi had, indeed, just been about to explain himself. Again. But he snapped his mouth shut at Kanda's words. Okay--that was fair. But he needed to add-

"Alright. But...if you _do_ want me to--you know, 'say anything'--then ask me. An' I'll try to tell ya as best I can. I'm--I'm sick of lyin' to Yuu. Especially now that I know I don't have to. Because you already know."

Kanda felt his lips twitch. "Isn't this why we're doing this...questionnaire? So I can know what I want?" He looked back at his empty glass, sighing. Why did he want more vodka _now_? Hadn't he been trying to prove a point...? Well...

"It's my turn, isn't it?" he asked vaguely, looking over at the redhead, who had his eye glued on the now-empty vodka glass. Great.

Lavi nodded. Honestly, he was a bit afraid of what sort of questions his friend would ask. But, he imagined Yuu probably felt similar, so he didn't complain.

"But...please, no more alcohol..? Not right now, at least... I'm still a bit hungover, an' the smell is makin' me feel sick..."

Kanda stiffened. "Che ,I know." Didn't mean he still didn't want any, but he shoved that part of him far-far in the back of his brain. "Who is Tyki? What connection do he and Sheryl have to the Bookman clan?"

"Well...Tyki Mikk an' Sheryl Kamelot are brothers--or, half-brothers, really. They're originally from Portugal, an' they're business men...sorta... Tyki works for Sheryl, doin' paperwork an' stuff, but--anyhow. Ya asked how they're connected to my Clan? Well, they're both informants. Very important informants. I've known Tyki for about four months now--maybe a little more. But I just met Sheryl for the first time yesterday. Bookman told Tyki to take me there..."

From the way Lavi trailed off at that, Kanda half wondered if the man told him it was 'you go or else'. "Hn, so you were getting to know the business? How nice of Bookman." He hadn't meant to sound sarcastic, but he couldn't help it--and no, his eyes weren't going to the glass, they were focusing in the hand still holding his. "Now your question?"

"Okay, well..." Lavi sighed, and laughed awkwardly. He still couldn't quite grasp the fact that Kanda knew. For so long already, and Lavi...he'd had _no_ idea.

"You told me _when_ ya figured me out. But...how? Was it something I did? Something I said?"

Kanda blinked. "Didn't I already...answer...?" But then, knowing the redhead, he wanted specifics. "I--well...remember when you visited me on the second day at the hospital?" The redhead nodded his head. "How Bookman came to pick you up? How I was asleep?" The man tensed. "I wasn't actually asleep then."

Lavi flinched slightly, and looked away. "You--what? But--but I thought they...gave Yuu stuff! To make you sleep!" There was no doubt, he was surprised.

Kanda gave him a dull look. "At that point, I highly doubt any medication they could give me was enough to knock me out _cold_ baka." He cast a glance back at the empty glass on the table, not even moving it when he felt Lavi's eye land on the glass as well. "I suppose now's my turn to ask a question? And since we're on topics of _hospitals_...Bookman really did break your hand that one time--it wasn't an accident was it? Why?"

"Uhm...no, it wasn't an accident. Uh--it's because I was slacking off..." he trailed off, extremely embarrassed with this admission. His free hand went up to fiddle with his eyepatch, absently. "But--that _really_ wasn't a big deal. He's done worse, but... Ah, it doesn't matter. It's over an' done with now."

Kanda scowled. That _really_ wasn't an accurate answer--nor was this 'worse' Lavi kept talking about--he'd have to make sure to ask that later. But first, he knew the redhead would ask his question. He swallowed--damnit, _why_ did he want alcohol again?

Lavi nodded, more to himself, than to Kanda, and then his eye went wide, and his hand flew back to his lap. Now _that_ wasn't suspicious behavior, at all.

"W-well--how 'bout this. Yuu said ya weren't an alcoholic, but--ya keep looking at that glass, then the kitchen, not even every two minutes. What's up with that, huh? Either you're in denial, or you lied about not being addicted."

Kanda went ramrod straight. "It's--I...I'm not." Like that sounded convincing at all, and with Lavi's scowl set firmly--he knew the boy didn't believe him. "Che, fine I might be. I do watch how much I drink, and I don't drink during the week." Except if Lavi coerced him into it, but then that was the _redhead's_ fault. Not his.

Lavi nodded, though his expression was sad. So, he'd been right. Yuu was...

"Well...everyone has their problems, right? At least you control yours, not the other way around. An'...thanks for tellin' me." He gave the other boy a smile, and leaned forward to press a quick kiss to his lips. It was completely innocent this time, however.

"So--your turn, then..." he mumbled as he pulled away.

Kanda's eyes widened slightly at the brush of lips against his, but before he knew it they were gone, leaving a pleasant tingling sensation behind. It annoyed him to think of how long it took to think of a question, but he did have one. "You said that the broken hand wasn't the worst thing he's done to you. What's the worst?"

Lavi gulped, and a quite visible shiver ran through his body, as he looked away. "Well--fuck. Ya really pick up on everything, don't Yuu?"

Kanda merely narrowed his eyes at him, and Lavi realized that a distraction was _not_ going to work. Not this time. Not this question. Sighing, he closed his uncovered eye, and raised a hand to his eyepatch before letting it fall back down into his lap.

"He--my eye. My right eye. It's...why I wear an eyepatch... I don't want anyone to see."

He knew it was vague, but--he really, _really_ did not want to talk about this. In fact, it had been the one topic he'd hoped they would stay clear away from. And promise or not, Kanda would have to _pry_ this one out of him.

Kanda's eyes narrowed in a deadly gaze. "He..." But when he reached out to touch the eyepatch, Lavi moved away, looking for all the world sickened.

"Lavi."

The boy shook his head, and for once Kanda took the hint. He still had questions. He'd still be able to ask. "Fine. Your turn."

"I...u-uhm..._fuck_." Damnit, why was he still stuttering like that? Calm down--he needed to calm down. "How--how old were you? The first time?"

He knew it was a somewhat random question, but--hey. 'Random' meant 'distraction' half the time, right? He could at least try.

"Willingly?" Oops, shit, that wasn't supposed to--"Twelve. I think." His eyes glanced back at the glass, just to give them something else to look at.

Lavi's eye widened at that, and his lips parted to ask more, but--his turn was up now. And he could only hope against all hope, that Kanda would ask something else next. Anything but _that_.

Unfortunately, hope had never liked him very much.

Kanda still kept his gaze firm on the empty glass, but then, slowly, he looked back at the red head. "Your eye. Can I see it?"

Lavi flinched visibly, and seemed to shrink in on himself. Then-

"What eye?" he asked wryly--humorlessly. "There's...really nothing to see."

Kanda scowled. "Unless he gouged it out then you still have a fucking eye--or at least a damn eyelid. Let. Me. See. It. If you don't, then this questionnaire is over."

Lavi whimpered softly--he couldn't _help_ it, damnit. Finally--he was shaking now--he turned back to face Kanda, though he kept his gaze focused on the patch of couch between them.

"You--you take it off, then." He wouldn't touch it. He didn't want to risk touching what was hidden _beneath_ it.

"Fine then, I will." He didn't know why the fuck the idiot was shaking so bad, but then he figured he might as well find out, as he reached out and touched the side of the boy's face--feeling him tense, but not pull away as he had tried to do before--to run along the band that held the eyepatch in place.

It didn't take much to undo it--it was just a simple knot in the back, and soon the eyepatch was falling between them, and Kanda had a clear view of his eye.

Of the eye--or, well, eye_lid_. The skin was oddly smooth despite what looked like a few patches that hadn't quite healed, along with the horrible scar tissue that looked to be the cause of what was keeping his eye sealed shut.

He swallowed after a moment, realizing he hadn't said a word--and that Lavi looked almost nearly panicked.

"How?" It was one word, but it spoke volumes

"He--you _had_ your question, Y-Yuu..." he muttered shakily. But...in this case--well, he had nothing more to lose here, now did he? So, he answered.

"He--he p-poured...acid. Uhm...Hydrofluoric acid. Tilted my head back--held it there--and poured. It was...just a lil' bit, but--it d-did the trick... A-an' I learned my lesson." He quickly averted his good eye, not wanting--not feeling _able_ to look at Kanda anymore. He was too ashamed. Too disgusted with himself. And he didn't want Yuu to be disgusted with him, too...

"Technically, that was _part_ of my question, baka." Kanda made sure to keep his voice at a whisper--in fact it seemed to be set on that by default. "But...I...." He let out a sigh, and reached up with his fingertips to brush against the eyelid. His neutral expression quickly downturned when the idiot tried to pull away--"Don't," he admonished, and before he could stop the movement, he leaned up and pressed a light kiss on the smooth skin.

Lavi inhaled sharply, and his entire body went rigid. It was a natural reaction for him--he'd been conditioned--whenever anyone got too close to his eye. And now...this was the first time he'd ever let anyone _see_ the damage. Let alone tell them what had happened. Let them _touch_. But...this was Yuu. And because it was Yuu--he supposed it was acceptable.

Slowly--ever so slowly--he forced his shoulders to relax. Then his neck, his arms, and his stomach. Then the rest of him. And finally, he slowly raised his eye to meet both of Kanda's.

Kanda felt his lips twitch in response, as the boy slowly looked up at him. "Did you really think something like that would bother me?" And fuck it if it did--he'd be a hypocrite, that was for certain. "It's...part of you. You don't--need...to hide it around me--at least." Because he knew it was too much to ask that others accept _that_ disfigurement as well.

But getting things back in order, "Che--it's your turn, by the way."

Lavi nodded slowly, and as soon as he was able, turned his face away. "Okay... Uhm...well, seeing as you made me show you this...you can answer a question I know you won't wanna, but--still. Before...ya said 'willingly'. Your...first time, it wasn't willing--you weren't willing, were you? What happened?"

Then, he added, "An'...can I put it back on now? My...eyepatch...?"

Kanda sighed. "Fine." Though he wasn't quite sure what that was an answer to, he decided to make it to both. "I...don't _remember_ my first time. I was--young. Though."

It was vague, maybe a little bit of a lie, he certainly did...sort of remember it--that memory was too cloudy still. "It--I think...they may have drugged me?" he decided to tack on, when Lavi gave him a reproachful look that said 'I don't quite believe you'.

Ha, well, he'd hit the nail on the head for that one.

"Yuu..." Lavi whined softly, pouting as he hurried to tie the patch of black leather over his 'eye' once more. "You're still lying--why won't you just tell me the truth? I--my eye--for Yuu... I've never shown or told _anyone_ that. Hell, I even lied to Lenalee--told her I was just born blind in that eye. Please...tell me the truth..?"

Kanda shook his head. "I--well I do remember some of it. Not a lot. I definitely _was_ drugged, though. Not that that's surprising." He let out a laugh that sounded much to bitter--and made Lavi give him another questioning look.

"I think I was nine," he tacked on, "if that helps, anyway." Which it didn't.

But he didn't quite _care_ anymore. He had done _that_ to get drugs before--and sure, he had kind-of been forced...but--he couldn't remember the pain, so...

By the time Kanda had finished, Lavi looked about ready to cry. He _wanted_ to. But he knew it would only piss Yuu off, so he didn't.

"I--Yuu..." He moved closer to the other boy, and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in the other's neck. It was the most comfort he could give, to someone like Kanda, and he was now mostly confident that he /wouldn't/ be pushed away.

And then he was being hugged.

'What?' He looked down.

He was being hugged by a mop of unruly red hair.

'Why?' Well--he didn't have a fucking clue, actually, but the bodyweight felt nice against his chest--so did the warmth (not that he'd ever admit those two things willingly)--and he wasn't so inclined to move, lest he get rid of said warmth.

But still. "What are you doing, idiot?" he asked down to the mop of red hair, feeling it shift. "I don't need--"

But of course, the redhead knew 'more' than him--didn't he always? Didn't he always disagree? Didn't he-

But this time, Lavi actually pulled away.

"Ne, sorry Yuu..." he shifted his gaze downwards, blushing. "I guess now's not the time to be 'annoying', right? Yuu just...looked like you needed a hug, so I gave you one..."

Then, he seemed to realize something. "Ne...Yuu...you seem to mention 'drugs' a lot. What..." His eyes widened. "That 'shipment'...was it...?"

"So the idiot rabbit finally put two and two together." He really couldn't help the sardonic tone, even though the redhead looked hurt by it. "Yes, it was drugs. I'm not inclined to tell you what kind, but I assume you can figure out the rest."

Or rather, he didn't want him to, but he decided it was probably better to give up the fucking Q&A now. And he wanted more vodka.

Lavi's shoulders slumped, and he sighed in defeat. Then, noticing that it looked as if Kanda was about to get up, the redhead turned to his earlier positions of 'hugging' his Japanese friends. Only this time, the purpose wasn't to comfort him, but to prevent him from leaving.

"Yuu... When Yuu said earlier, that the drugs were for...'lots of people'..." he whispered weakly, squeezing tighter, "were you included in those...people?"

Kanda froze.

'Shit.' Stupid rabbit didn't get cues that meant _shut the fuck up fuck up fuck up_. Which what did he expect? When the idiot rabbit's arms went around his waist and squeezed.

He wanted to move. get out, but he was already sending bright neon warning signals and _fuck, fuck, fuck_, the redhead already knew.

He didn't have to say a fucking word. Not that he had a chance to, before the idiot rabbit opened his mouth and words spilled out.

"Yuu...why?" His voice broke on the last word, but he didn't care. He _really_ didn't care right now. He just cared about Yuu, and how...how he might-

"It's--but it's--you could..! If I lost Yuu, I'd--I...I dunno what I'd do..." he sniffled. So, he looked like a fool. So, he really _was_ being a 'baka Usagi' this time. He didn't give a fuck.

"Why...why did Yuu even...?" He was going to say 'start', but--the word refused to come out. If he said it, it would make this _real_. Not that--not that it wasn't already, but then--it would be _too_ real.

"Why _do_ people fucking start in the first place?" Kanda wondered, after a moment of just sniffles coming from the red head. "Some do it just to get high--those fucking brats do, in any case--some do it to fit in, some do it because shit happens, some people do it because _more_ shit happens, others do it because they were forced." His eyes narrowed when he felt the boy's arms tense again. "Do you honest to god want to fucking _guess_?"

He hoped he didn't. Or if he did then--knowing the redhead he'd check every nook and cranny and-

"I'm careful." Not that meant a fucking thing. He didn't even know why he said it--and suddenly he was being shoved, and forced around, and the redhead was glaring at him--glaring at him, but _crying_ too. The pit of his stomach felt funny.

"_No_, I don' wanna 'guess'!! I want ya ta _tell_ me, or else I wouldn'ta _asked_." His words were slurred slightly by his tears, and he shook his head, leaning forward to rest his face against Kanda's chest. "I jus' told Yuu--_showed_ you--the biggest fuckin' secret I've ever had. One I told myself I'd _never_ share with anyone! But I told Yuu, damnit, so I think you owe me this, at least! I jus' want the truth!"

Kanda swallowed, when the redhead buried his face in his chest. He--yes. He had a point, but this--"I--" this was, "I--before..."

He had always told himself he needed to be careful. Always careful--he didn't want to see those disappointed faces again. He didn't.

"I told myself I'd kick the habit." It was...simple enough, because it _had_ become a habit. A horrible one. "I didn't...want to see..."--the faces of Tiedoll, and Marie, and even Daisya, staring at him in shock when the truth came out--horrible and ugly because he was _weak_, and knew it, and-

Why was the room swimming?

'Shit.'

He had to sit down. But Lavi was still looking at him, waiting for a goddamn answer--the one he was _trying_ to fucking give but _failing_ miserably.

Goddamnit.

"Yuu..? Didn't wanna see what?" he asked softly. He was calming down now, but--as soon as he saw the Japanese waver rock slightly on his feet, Lavi's eye widened in alarm, and he quickly pulled the other boy back down onto the couch. Which--because of both their previous positions--resulted in Kanda quite literally pinning Lavi to the couch.

"Yuu! Are you alright??"

He was vaguely aware that the redhead had said something--it had been so muffled and garbled by whatever the hell was currently blocking his ears, but he could guess what it was and managed out a quiet, "In a second. Fine. Jus'--refill." He pointed towards the empty glass, and though Lavi looked increasingly worried when he chanced a glance at him, he did grab the glass.

Maybe a little? Maybe-

"It's in the top left cabinet." He pointed towards the kitchen, not caring if the redhead saw whatever else collection he had stashed there. "Put water in it...at halfway..." Because--just because he liked it that way, okay?

Lavi nodded, reluctantly.

"Uhm...you're gunna hafta get off me first, though..." Lavi didn't want to laugh. He really didn't. But--he just couldn't help it, this time, and a light giggle passed his lips, despite the current severity of their situation. When Kanda grumbled, and sat up, the redhead crawled the rest of the way out from beneath him, and made his way to the kitchen, glass in hand.

Reaching the indicated cupboard, Lavi pulled it open--gasping slightly at the sheer amount and variety of alcohol contained inside. Sighing heavily, he began digging around inside, till he found the bottle of vodka. Then--he got an idea.

Twisting off the lid, Lavi filled the glass a quarter of the way with the strong alcohol, then put it away. Then, he went to the fridge, and filled the cup to just passed the half-way point with water.

This...was going to be absolutely disgusting. But hopefully, the sheer shock would snap Kanda out of it.

He went back to the living room, sat down on next to the other boy, and handed him the glass--somehow managing to keep a straight face the entire time.

Kanda took the glass eagerly from the boy's grip--not even caring that, even though the idiot wasn't smiling, it looked like he _wanted_ to--and that should have sent warning bells off.

But hell, how could anyone make alcohol _worse_?

...Well--apparently certain redheads could. He nearly spat up the concoction, before shooting Lavi a heated glare.

Not that it worked against the laughter. And maybe he was glad he was able to draw laughter out like that, but, "Che, not that much _baka_." And, oh, a complete sentence too!--he tried to force himself up off the couch, though his legs were still a little wobbly--Lavi was laughing far too much to catch him until he stumbled his way to the sink to pour the concoction out.

Taking a glance at the clock--it was after 12 now, that meant he could have at least one glass right?

But when he turned back around, the laughter was gone, and he already knew the redhead was going to ask him. What the Hell--what the Hell-- wasn't it always 'what the Hell?'

"Well...you needed a wake-up call, so I gave it to Yuu," Lavi said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He physically dragged Kanda away from the alcohol stash, sat him down at the counter, and gave him a glass of cold water--_straight_ water.

"But seriously, Yuu...what the _Hell_??" He shook his head. "What was that all about, back in there?"

Kanda scowled down at the water, but drank it anyway. "Che, still, you did it wrong." He busied himself sliding the glass back and forth between his hands, even though the motion was stupid. Then, slowly, quietly, he mumbled, "There's just a fucking wall in the way. That's all." He refused to look at Lavi after that--even when the idiot tried to lean closer, get in his personal space-

"What the fuck?"

He smirked inwardly as the redhead cringed

"Well...I was trying to find the wall, so I could tell it to go away," Lavi replied honestly, blinking. His face expressed nothing but the utmost seriousness, but internally--he was laughing his ass off. Well...his internal ass. But wait--wouldn't that be his prostate? Okay, sooo not going there this early in the morning--err, afternoon. Fine. His 'mental ass', then.

And now, he was laughing for real.

Kanda blinked and stared at the idiot. "What--? Did you kill a few of your brain cells drinking? Or are you really not used to having someone jack you off?" Okay, that probably wasn't making things any better, but hey--he love--liked--was never-endingly amused at making the other boy blush as red as his hair.

"..." The color of Lavi's face could rival a strawberry now, and he was so flustered, he couldn't even bring himself to speak. At least, not right away. After a few moments of his mouth opening and closing like that of a guppy--_no_. Don't think about guppies right now, damnit, he was blushing impossibly _brighter_--he finally got a word out. Rather, a few words.

"I--I was jokin', Yuu."

"Good." Kanda took a sip of water. "But really. You don't do it that often do you?"

"I've--no, I don't. I've only--three times--well, Tyki did it once yesterday," he, surprisingly, felt okay admitting this now, "an' then Yuu...last night. ...An' this morning, if it...counts..."

Kanda stopped messing with the glass long enough to notice Lavi's slight change in tone. "Why wouldn't it count?" he wondered, just to see the boy's answer--or--well-

Except his back pocket was vibrating.

"Well, b'cuz it wasn't a 'hand' job, that's why," Lavi answered, as if it were obvious. Then his eyes went wide, and-

"Hey, my _phone_!!!" He lunged for Kanda, grabbing his ass with one hand to hold the older boy steady, while the other hand reached into his back pocket, immediately locating the cell-phone, and pulling it out. He ignored the startled look on the other's face, and flipped the phone open, bringing it up to his ear.

"'Ello?" he spoke into it. And when he heard the voice on the other side-

-Ohshit.

"Ah--so this _is_ the right number~" Sheryl hummed, grinning at Tyki's exasperated look as he lounged on the man's couch. "I was worried when brother dearest said someone rude was on the other line~"

Lavi coughed, trying not to laugh. "Hello to you too, Sheryl." He noted the alarmed--and...angry?--expression on Kanda's face when he said the man's name, but paid it no mind.

"Yeah... Tell Ty-pon I'm sorry 'bout that, ne? I assume he's with you? We just...had a bit of a rough start this morning..." He coughed again, though this time for a different reason, and hoped to the Gods above that Sheryl wouldn't pick up on it.

"A rough start?" the man wondered, rolling over on the couch, and grinning languidly at brother dearest, who was just about to hand him a bowl of frosted cheerios. "I certainly hope your hangover wasn't _too_ bad--or--oh dear, did he take advantage of--"

Immediately, the phone was jerked out of his hand--and likewise, the phone from Lavi's.

"What is he--" They both realized they were talking to each other again. Lovely.

"Tch,"

"Put Lov-Lavi on the phone."

"How 'bout not. And stop fucking calling." And then, Kanda very presumptuously snapped the phone shut. "If they're going to fucking call--text them, and say call at _home_. Besides, you need to call Lenalee, don't you?"

Lavi's eye had been narrowed at Kanda in anger, but when the other boy mentioned their female friend, his eye widened almost comically.

"Well--shit! Gimme my phone then, Yuu bastard!" He scrambled to grab said electronic object out of the Japanese's hand. Once he had it, he quickly hit Lenalee's speed-dial, and wandered over to the couch, waiting for her to pick up.

Finally, there was a clicking sound on the other line--she's opened her phone--and Lenalee's voice answered.

/Lavi? You're calling from your phone now? I figured it was dead, when you called from Kanda-kun's.../

"Aha, no. I--left it in the living room last night, and--didn't feel like gettin' out of bed yet, when I called you earlier..." He blushed slightly, thinking of _why_ he'd forgotten his phone on the coffee table...

/Oh...okay, well, what are you doing now? Can you...talk...yet?/ she asked, and her voice--her voice was only slightly threatening, but Lavi gulped nonetheless.

"W-well...now's...not really the best time, actually. Me an' Yuu are just...discussin' something."

/Well then, let's all meet for lunch. I called Allen earlier, after I talked to you, and he wants to know what's going on, too./

Lavi sighed. "You...told Allen? Ugh, fine. Well--I'll ask Yuu." He turned to face the Japanese boy, who'd followed him into the living room, and relayed the offer. But the look on his own face, said he really, really didn't want to go.

Kanda watched the redhead's face pinch up in that way that he _knew_ meant that--Lenalee was trying to goad him into something. And when he relayed the offer, he sighed. "Che--don't you have to get _home_ baka?" Because he knew it was a viable excuse--maybe one Lenalee could understand. "I don't think you want to risk having your...grandfather continue to wonder what the fuck you did last night."

He saw the redhead cringe, but it was enough, wasn't it? To get Lenalee off his back.

Lavi smiled--it was grim, and slightly pained, but still a smile--at Kanda, and nodded in thanks, before refocusing his attention on his conversation with Lenalee.

"Actually, Lena-chan--I _really_ need to get home. I...haven't even spoken to Gramps since yesterday mornin', when I called him from school. An' I'm already gunna be in shit when I go back, just for being late, an' not calling earlier. So--maybe another time, okay?" He heard the girl on the other end sigh, frustrated, but-

/It's alright, I guess. I mean--it's not, but--you're right. I didn't take Bookman into account. You...really haven't talked to him? Shit, Lavi...you're gonna be in big trouble. Just...call me back after, okay? Please?/

Lavi sighed, and dropped his head, just a little, before biting the words out. "I...might _not_ be able to call you back, Lenalee. Not tonight, anyways." Before the girl could protest--which, he _knew_ she would--he hung up the call.

Kanda's eyes narrowed into a scowl, at the foreboding tone of the other's voice, but he knew just as much as Lenalee did--no, more than--yes Lavi wouldn't get out unscathed. "Should I drop you off in front of your house, or a block away?" Because now he could ask without it being a silent question between them.

But it did hurt when the idiot nodded his head. Because that meant--that meant--well, of course he didn't want to get him involved. He couldn't exactly blame him anymore-

So he sighed, and muttered, "Go get your fucking shirt on, then we'll go."

Lavi nodded, letting out a heavy sigh. "Alright. I left it in your room, so--be right back."

And he wandered off down the hall, disappearing from Kanda's sight momentarily, before returning a less than a minute later, now fully clothed. He raised his eye to meet Kanda's gaze, and shrugged, smiling tightly.

"So…shall we go? Best get this over with--an' outta the way…" He didn't say anything more as Kanda gave him a strange look--well, 'concern' was strange for Kanda, wasn't it?--and grabbed his keys off the counter, shoving them into his pocket. The redhead followed him out the door, and silently got into the passenger side of the car, buckling his seatbelt, and shutting the door behind him.

He couldn't bring himself to say a single word.

They reached the familiar street all to fucking soon, in Kanda's opinion, and he stopped at the familiar stop sign (that had once had--to his amusement--a small sign posted to it, scrawled in pink hand writing--'In the Name of Love'. Only thing that made people stop, not that now was the time to be thinking over...that...), and let the idiot rabbit out. Watching him, and watching him, until he was far enough down the street-

But he couldn't stand the painful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd hope the idiot would be okay. Hope because--well--what more could he do?

**--**

Lavi's pace slowed considerably as he got closer and closer to the front door of their rather...'quaint' little home. It was a small house, two stories, with a nice little garden out front. The neighbors had never suspected a thing.

Finally, the redhead came to a stop, and after only a moment's hesitation--no, he was _not_ trying to prolong the inevitable--he turned the knob, and pushed open the door.

"Gramps! I'm home!" he called, surprising himself with how even he'd managed to keep his voice. Shutting the door behind him, he untied his boots, and kicked them off, before wandering into the living room where he was sure 'Gramps' was probably waiting.

It had been more than a day since he had heard from the redhead--much less _seen_ him, and yes, Bookman was...peeved. Maybe a little more-so, when he heard his idiot apprentice's voice echo in from the foyer. Scowling, he turned to the boy who walked in--like everything was good and right with the world.

"Where have you been?" Though he already knew the answer. "I'm certain I told Sheryl not to _keep you_ for the entire night?"

"Ah, he didn't keep me _all_ night," Lavi assured. "After I got the tour, I went out for dinner with him an' Tyki. An' I'd told Yuu-chan I'd go over to his place later, so I got Tyki to drive me there. But I was really tired, an' ended up crashin' at his place. I actually just woke up a lil' while ago, which is why I didn't call, an' didn't get home till now."

He nodded, and sat down on the couch. "So, what's up? I woulda called /last/ night actually, but by the time I got back to Yuu's place, I figured an old man like yourself would already be in bed~"

Bookman scowled at the grin.

"How considerate of you." Now that the boy was closer, he did a cursory scan; his shirt was at an odd angle, and his belt was a little askew as well, and his shoulders--while tense--seemed oddly...relaxed. As if--but no. He certainly _hoped_ that wasn't the case.

"You know the rules," he murmured, and that was all he needed to say, "and you broke those rules. Have I taught you nothing?"

Lavi almost flinched--almost. Instead, he grinned widely, and clapped Bookman lightly on the back.

"Sure, ya taught me lots! Almost everything I know, I learned from you, Jiji." He intentionally avoided the topic of 'rules', but--perhaps that hadn't been the best idea.

Bookman latched onto the boy's arm, making sure to dig in to the boy's skin--not hard enough to bleed, but hard enough for the boy to yelp and jerk his hand back, "You are creating attachments, just by staying over at this 'Yuu-chan's' house. You know this is forbidden."

"Don't make me laugh, old man," Lavi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You never said I wasn't allowed to have 'contacts', did ya? I went to Yuu's b'cuz it was convenient. Plus, the more people feel comfortable around me, the more people 'trust' me--then the easier it is to get information that could possibly be beneficial. You _know_ I'm right."

"You may be right, but do not think I haven't noticed." There. There was the slightly panicked look in that lone green eye. "Do you even know how many times you've said that boy's name? How many times you've 'stayed over' simply because it was 'convenient'? I wouldn't have thought you'd be foolish enough to think I haven't been keeping track."

"I..." There--that was where he screwed up. He had _paused_. You _never_ pause when talking to Bookman. It only got you in trouble.

"So--so I have a friend? _One_ friend. At least--it keeps me from being bored, when I have nothing _else_ to do. Right? And...it's...moral support. Which I need sometimes. Like--for studying. Or--or motivation. Right?"

Bookman's face set even further into a frown. So the attachment had been made. He had been afraid of this.

"Lavi."

The boy went ramrod straight--mouth snapping up. "You realize what this means, don't you?"

And he was sure the boy did.

**xoxox**

_**Author's Note: **__ Holy crap, 39 pages, okay yeah--we outdid ourselves with this chapter. *laughs* But it was also one of our favorites. Emotional turmoil, and all that. Maybe I feel slightly bad. Or not. _

_Erm, regardless--Have Questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? Send it via review! We'd love to hear from you! (and now I must be heading to bed…I think)._

_Until the next chapter!_


	6. Fool

_**Author's Note:**__ Erm--first of all, I need to apologize. This is almost three weeks late. And I'm really, really sorry about that. A lot of crazy shit has been going on this last--well, quite a while--not all bad, mind you--but still. And neither Harmony nor myself have had much time to work on editing this, or even _think_ about it.. But--eh. It's done now, and that's really all I can say, at this point. In any case, we hope this new installment was worth the wait..? _D:__

_**Disclaimer:**__ I'm not sure about Harmony, but the only thing I really care to own right now, is the bowl of Apple-Jacks (first one I've had in six years) sitting neglected beside me. And surprisingly, no, that doesn't include DGM.****_

Warnings for this chapter:_ Erm--slight gore, for one. Sheryl being un-creepy (the shock-factor deserves a warning, I should think? o.o ), more mentions of drug-usage, implied rape...and a whip cream fight._

**Chapter Six****  
"Fool"**

The alley was dark.

Really, really dark. But not because the sky was dark--it was slightly, but-

It was dark, because Lavi couldn't open his eye. He _wouldn't_ open it. Because if he opened his eye, then he would see. See the blood on the ground, or on the brick wall he was slouching on. On his hands. On his shoulder, where the switch-blade knife was _still_ buried. Or Hell, even the blood that would trickle _into_ his eye, the second he opened it, trailing down from the gash on his forehead.

Yeah. Getting your head knocked into a wall was _not_ fun.

The sound of approaching footsteps vaguely registered to the boy's ears, and he flinched, letting out a pained whimper when the motion upset some of his wounds.

But he still wouldn't open his eye.

--

Sheryl never quite understood the Earl's way of thinking. Really. _What_ going down to the practical _slums_ of town had to do with--well--anything, he had no idea. But he had checked on what the man had wanted him to check on, and he hoped that had been good enough, because quite honestly he did _not_ want to stay here any longer. It was creepy, dark, dank, dirty (in more ways than one), and for all he knew he would find a dead _body_ tucked away into one of the alleyways.

He shuddered, and kept his eyes forward. 'Keep them forward. Nothing to see here. Nothing at all--nothing-'

Nothing, except a flash of red hair.

'Wait, what?' He stopped, and turned his head. Sure enough, he could see--vaguely--the outline of a very human looking object, leaning against one of the alleyways walls--one he had just passed.

'Don't tell me...' He did a backtrack, quick steps, backward, not even turning around--and--and-

"Dear god." Not that he believed in a God, but--"La...vi?" There he was, leaning against the wall--bleeding. Was the blood on the wall all his? And--was that a knife?

He shook the sick feeling in his stomach away--the feeling that he wanted to _gag_ at the sight--and quickly moved forward, leaning down to touch the boy--to see if he was responsive. Thankfully he was, groaning, and shifting, and--he saw the phone in the boy's hand. On a number that he didn't quite recognize, but maybe the name looked familiar. Maybe it had been a friend? He wasn't certain.

All he knew was he needed to get the boy _out_, and _now_.

Suddenly he was very, very glad he had come to the practical slums of the area--when he hoisted the boy up, one hand on his back, the other hooked under his knees--because if not, then-

Well, he just wouldn't think about that.

Lavi cried out softly in protest when he felt himself being lifted up, but he was in too much pain to even _try_ to struggle. He knew this place--knew what it was like--what kind of people usually lurked in the shadows here--and he didn't like it. At all.

Where was Yuu? Why--why hadn't he answered his phone? Didn't he think, maybe, that Lavi would _need_ him?

His head was bleeding again, and some of the blood trickled into his mouth, causing him to cough and sputter, though it just made his body ache _more_.

His 'captor' must have noticed too, because not long after, whoever it was uttered a soft curse.

But wait--Lavi was sure he _knew_ that voice...

Sheryl swore under his breath as the boy started to cough, and quickened his pace. He was quite certain he hadn't parked too far from here--and sure enough, he exhaled in relief as he saw his car, right where he had left it by the parking meter. He ignored the looks he received from passerby--they had probably seen worse, for all he knew. And besides, what did _he_ care? He had to get the boy to safety.

Slowly, he moved around to the back seat--opening it, before quickly laying the boy down flat, lest he agitate any of the bleeding wounds. He almost cursed himself for not having any medical equipment on him--not even a simple _band-aid_ (not that that would have done any good).

The redhead let out a few sharp cries, as he attempted to lay him down, and he almost gave up half way through, but thankfully he didn't, and managed to get the boy inside the car, and get himself over to the driver's side.

Being careful--more-so than usual--he merged his way into traffic, and headed towards home--hoping against hoping the boy's condition didn't worsen before he got there.

Lavi thanked God--if there even _was_ one--that he wasn't being moved anymore. But now they were driving somewhere, and he cried out as the car went over a bump, causing him to bounce slightly on the seat. The man in the front--Lavi assumed he was the one driving?--uttered a quick apology, and suddenly Lavi _knew_ who that voice belonged to.

"S-Sheryl..?" he rasped out, his own voice slightly rough from screaming, and then crying when he couldn't scream anymore.

Sheryl's eyes widened--how was the boy still _conscious_?--no; he wouldn't worry about that now. "Yes...it's me. Hush--we'll be home in a moment."

But of course the boy wasn't prone to listen, apparently, as he watched him try and struggle to get up--"Don't--" he admonished as they hit a red light. "You'll only make your wounds worse. Please."

As if realizing this, the boy fell back to the seat cushions with a small whine that, though small, held pain--so much pain-

'Who could do such a thing?' He shook the thought away. 'No, I'll find that out later. Now—'He glanced at the boy in the back, before his foot found the gas pedal. 'First, we need to get home.'

Lavi didn't want to listen, but...he knew this time, Sheryl was right. Should he be _surprised_ the man wasn't trying to take advantage of his weakened state? No...no, Sheryl wasn't like that. He wasn't _that_ bad. Even Lavi could tell the man had morals--just--not many. Or else he ignored them.

The redhead sighed, and began humming a tune quietly, as best as he could in his current state--though it was broken up every now and then, by his breath suddenly hitching in his throat, for one reason or another. He was still humming when he felt the car pull to a stop.

Damn Yuu-chan, for getting that song stuck in his head. Even if it _was_ one of his favorites.

Sheryl never thought he'd be so glad to see the big (for one person), lonely house he currently lived in. He usually dreaded going home--even if it meant hanging out at a bar, or at his dear brother's apartment.

But no, now he had a reason to be here, as he got out of the car and opened the passenger side door, and helped the boy (who was--what was he humming? It sounded vaguely familiar) out of the car.

Carrying him up the concrete steps to the door, he fumbled with the keys for a moment, managing to get them in the lock, and turned before kicking it roughly open.

He made sure not to stumble, as he made his way through the foyer, to the grand living room with the nice plush couch he was sure the boy would love taking a rest on for a moment. He didn't even care about the blood--it could be cleaned easily enough--as he set the boy down gently.

After he cleaned the basic wounds, he could move him to the closest first floor guest bedroom. Or--or maybe his room. Maybe. But that required stairs, and he wasn't quite sure if the boy wanted to attempt _that_ yet.

Regardless, he turned on his heels and made his way into the spacious kitchen, to the rows and rows of cabinets that held various medical ointments and Tupperware. Casting a glance at the table, he sighed. Spotless, of course--with the maid he hired he expected as much, but he'd make sure she left the paper _out_ next time, as he reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled down one of the many boxes.

Rushing back into the living room after he checked to see that said basket held the basic contents he needed, he sat down next to the redhead, shifting so that the boy was sitting up, and cringing as he let out a yelp of pain-'How is he still conscious?' he wondered as he murmured, "This may hurt, but we need to get that," that being the switchblade, "out."

For the record, no, he wasn't ready for the cry of pain.

When Sheryl reached for the knife, Lavi had flinched--he couldn't help it. But when the man had taken hold of it, and pulled it _out_...Lavi had _screamed_.

The blood came pouring out, faster than it _should_ from any non-threatening wound. Any healing that had occurred was immediately undone, when the blade had been removed, and suddenly--suddenly Lavi's head was swimming, and he swayed.

"Ahh...f-fuck..."

Sheryl grimaced. "I was afraid that would happen." He remembered the wounds Tyki used to get--an unpleasant, though not recent, memory--and quickly grabbed the thick towel he had conveniently rolled up, along with the other medical equipment, and attempted to press it to the wound.

But no, that wouldn't do.

"Terribly sorry, but-" Modesty wasn't so important now as he took the shirt and jerked it over the boy's head, tossing it over the side of the couch, before immediately pressing the towel back again. "Hold that here," he murmured, before quickly standing up, and rushing to get some water. It wouldn't be much, he decided, but it would be better to try and attempt to clean out the bigger wounds first--then attend the smaller ones.

Making his way back to the couch, he cursed when he saw the look in the boy's lone green eye--dilated and--he would certainly pass out soon, if not from blood loss, then from the pain.

So he quickly set to cleaning the head wound--as much as he could, with the boy squirming away unconsciously at each wipe with the washcloth (okay, really it was a dishtowel, but did it really matter? He was desperate!), though thankfully, it didn't take much to wipe the blood away (apparently the gash had been one of the first the boy received, and though it apparently _had_ bled a lot, it had slowed down considerably), and soon he had that wound nice and patched up, with a thick bandage.

The knife wound, however--he cringed--that--that-

"Lovey, can you...move your hand for a moment?" he wondered, watching as the boy shivered, breath coming in quick pants. That was worrisome--much more than--no, he wouldn't panic, as he moved the teen's hand himself, and began to slowly clean that wound as well.

He was almost glad that the boy was too far gone to shout, but it was still worrisome. Thankfully, though, he had just enough left to make a passable bandage. He would still have to call a doctor, though--he made a mental note, as he moved to pick the boy up again.

The hand gripping his wrist, however, stopped him, and he was met with a surprisingly bright green eye--'He's _still_ conscious?'--and a very simplistic question.

"Why?" he asked softly, and though his voice didn't crack this time, it did with his next words. "Why are y-you...doing this for me...?"

He really _didn't_ understand it. It wasn't like Sheryl _cared_ about him--they had only met the previous day, after all--and though Sheryl had...'flirted' with him...quite a lot--the man was like that with everyone, wasn't he? Or--maybe the man had decided to help him for Tyki's sake.

His vision was starting to swim again, and his head was pounding. Maybe that was why he couldn't figure it out? And so, he asked his question again.

'Why?' Sheryl watched as the boy's eye went in and out of focus. "Why?" he repeated. "Why...wouldn't...I?"

It was surprising how simple the answer was, and he half wondered if that's what the boy had expected. "Though now--you need to sleep. Don't worry, I'll watch you."

Maybe that wasn't a small comfort (with what Tyki had said and all. Dear, loveably little brother that he was), but quite honestly, it wouldn't have surprised him if the boy had a concussion, and those were never good.

So he tried once more to pick the boy up, and though he was just a dead of weight as he was before, he managed with the similar pattern, and managed to get down the hall and to the guest bedroom with a fair amount of ease.

Once there, he lowered Lavi onto the bed, maneuvering the covers, and working them out from under the redhead until he could tuck him in, nice and neat.

"Now sleep." And for a reason he didn't quite comprehend, he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to the boy's forehead.

**--**

When Lavi woke up, it was dark. And this time, it _wasn't_ because his eye was closed--because it wasn't. He just couldn't _see_. Not even a shadow.

Concerned, he felt around in his jeans pocket--movements careful, so as to not upset his wounds again--and dug out his cell-phone. He flipped it open.

And still, he couldn't see.

'Well, fuck...' he thought, grimacing. 'Must be a concussion, after all.'

Going on memory alone, he clumsily punched in the buttons for Kanda's cell, pressed the 'talk' button, and held the device up to his ear--waiting, and hoping the Japanese boy would answer this time.

******Kanda******

Kanda knew he should have been pissed off. He really should have been--quite honestly, there was no fucking way he'd _not_ be, under any normal circumstances. Except, well, these weren't normal. Of course he wouldn't be--not now, anyway.

And maybe he should have never picked up the fucking phone when he got in. He knew it'd be them again--or someone else--asking him, _begging_ him to--to do something, hide something, arrange _something_--and he really should have said no.

So why the fuck he didn't, he had no fucking clue. But he was irritated, and he knew the idiot redhead had it coming to him tenfold--and he hated to say it, but he wasn't just worried anymore. He was _scared_. Kanda Yuu was fucking _scared_--something he hadn't been since he was fourteen years old.

Fourteen years old--and that fear was caused by _this_.

He should have never taken it, he decided, but the brats had insisted--"He'll maim us for sure!"--"You understand, right?"--"You love us, right?"--He wanted to say 'fuck off' ten times over. But he hadn't, so he'd taken the fucking package, and drove the fuck off-

Because that's what they wanted, and he didn't want them to get hurt. Never get hurt. He didn't want anyone getting hurt again, except his fucking _self_. Right. Of course. 'Fucking genius that I am.'

Because everything always screwed up.

Because _he_ had been there. And somehow it happened again--the same thread had been fucking tugged-

And now he couldn't fucking _remember_ the past four hours, and the ones after that were blurry at best (his last completely coherent, and less agitated memory was of him slamming the front door in those brats' faces. Did he take another drink after that?).

And now he was there, sprawled out, feeling like absolute fucking shit. And he couldn't remember why. Or how (though there was a needle, and that dreaded package, opened and half empty).

He didn't even want to guess how much he had taken. All he knew was it was enough to make him--well--not really care. Not really worry, when he knew he fucking should, because--what about Lavi?

Lavi, Lavi, Lavi.

He needed to find his cell-phone. Where was it? Where? Where the fuck did he--ah. He heard ringing. Somewhere to the left--not far (he hoped)--across the...well...he was on a nice comfy bed, and to the right was a wall, so the left--on the floor? Or? He ignored the slight twinge he felt in his lower half, and scooted off said bed, fumbling until he saw it--through the dark--screen flashing.

He managed to grab it, just barely.

_Ah_, it was Lavi's number.

He flipped it open and answered--probably sounding like shit, but he didn't much care at that point (and was that _music_ in the background? Fuck, someone _needed_ to turn that off)-

"Where are you?"

Why did he feel like such a hypocrite?

**--**

"Y-Yuu...? Yuu...you sound like _shit_," he forced out, knowing his own voice wasn't any better. But-

He had answered. Lavi was relieved. Then, he realized he hadn't answered the question. "Oh. Uhm--I'm...at Sheryl's house, actually..."

**--**

Kanda sighed. "Like you're fucking one to talk."

Suddenly, the door banged open, and the music--'Goddamn.'--"Shut the fucking door!" He growled at said person (making sure to pull the phone away from his ear, but knowing that probably did little good), who stumbled for a moment in a drunken haze, before jolting upward, and mumbling-

"S-Sorry...jus'...Suma'...want'ed...ta'check on ya--"

"Well as you can see, I'm fucking fine. Tell the prick to go mind his damned business. And shut the fucking door."

He smirked inwardly when the man did as he was told, before jerking the phone back to his ear. "You're at that guys place--how the fuck did _that_ happen?"

**--**

Lavi gulped, and took a deep breath, before answering.

"I--Bookman." He heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, and continued. "He--an alley in the slums...Sheryl found me. Took me to 'is place. Cleaned my wounds, bandaged me up, an' put me ta bed. I was already only half-conscious, so it's...fuzzy..."

"What time is it?" he asked suddenly. "I'd check myself, but..."

**--**

Kanda felt his insides go cold, not that he hadn't expected it. "And I'd fucking check too, but..." He tried to get up, but felt too squeamish and 'not' fine, so he pulled the phone away and looked at it.

"Fuck. It's nearly...midnight..." He blinked for a moment, making sure he read the time right, before letting out an elaborate curse. He had done it again. Spent half his fucking day getting _high_ off of--fuck knows what.

He was just thankful the idiot wasn't asking. But then--fuck if he'd blame him. And the cold feeling was _back._

"How bad is it this time? Don't fucking lie."

**--**

"I--it's bad, Yuu. I'm not gunna lie. I...I can't _see_ anythin'. That's why I asked ya for the time. I...think I have a concussion." He sat up, and felt something...tear, which drew a strangled cry from his throat. And it was _loud_. But he got it together, and spoke before Kanda could get a chance to.

"Ahh...fuck, I think--my shoulder--it opened again." Sure enough, when the boy raised his hand to where he knew the wound was, the bandage was already damp, as if the blood was soaking through. And well--damn, he felt stupid for even having to wonder--it _was_. "Yup...s'bleedin' again..."

**--**

Kanda cursed under his breath. "Baka--you shouldn't have moved, then! And if you can't see, then--_damnit_--I can try coming over there. Not sure if that fucking prat will let me _leave_, though."

******Sheryl******

Sheryl jolted when he heard the scream, fumbling with the fresh bandages he had grabbed, and nearly dropping them all as he rushed down the stairs, towards the room the redhead occupied.

'It figures he'd wake up the one time I'm not there to watch him.' He laughed bitterly to himself, as he made it to the door--kicking it the rest of the way open to see the redhead very much awake, talking on the phone, with a hand on his shoulder.

And blood.

Lavi's eye widened in surprise--even though he _still couldn't see_ - when he heard the door burst open, and his head swiveled in the direction of the sound, though his eye was 'focused' about a foot away from Sheryl's head. Ignoring Kanda's question--for now--he addressed Sheryl first.

"Sheryl? Is'at you?" He tried to sit up just a bit straighter, and winced, the left side of his mouth twitching up with the action.

"Yes, it's me." Immediately, he went to the bed, noticing that Lavi was looking at him, but not really. "Don't try to move..." He looked at the phone still pressed to the man's ear. "Is that your friend?"

"Ah...yeah. Yeah, it's Yuu-chan." He heard the grunt over the phone, and couldn't help but smirk slightly. Then, he remembered, he'd been asked a question. "Uhm...Yuu can if you want--I think...?" He 'looked' at Sheryl.

"Yuu wants ta try an' come over, if--Wait, Yuu...what 'prat'? Y'okay? Wa's goin' on?"

Kanda scowled, rubbing his head. He really, _really_ didn't want to get up. Or answer that question. "Don't fucking worry about that--just--" He exhaled. "Can I come over, or not?"

**--**

He could hear the worried tone in the boy's voice and that, in turn, worried _him_. Which friend was this again? And...?

"If it makes you feel better, then yes." Though he wasn't quite sure if the boy was paying attention or not. "Do you want me to talk to him?" Not that he quite honestly wanted to--if this happened to be the rude boy from earlier--but-

"Uhm--if I let ya, he might hang up again...but...I'un think I'm in a state ta give directions, even if I _knew_ where ya live..." Then, he spoke into the phone. "Yuu? Talk t'Sheryl. An' be _nice_, please. ...For me?"

Not waiting for the other boy's response, he handed the phone off to Sheryl, and carefully laid himself back down on the bed, with the older man's help.

**--**

Kanda bristled for a moment, until he heard a decidedly unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line. /Hello?/

"Che."

/You're Kanda, aren't you? He said that you wanted to spend the night?/

"If I can." Damn, his head was starting to hurt. "Where do you live? Or--better yet, is there anything you fucking need?" There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end--great...an uptight kind of guy, lovely--"For Lavi. Bandages? Water? Painkillers?"

The other end was silent for a moment. /If...you don't mind--it's after midnight-/

"I know a place where I can get the stuff." He cut the man off.

Another round of silence, then, /Bandages...and--painkillers, I...rarely use them. So I never thought to refill and.../

"Fine then. I'll call back once I can fucking leave this place," He bristled even further when--goddamnit--someone opened the door again, "and once I get the stuff. Bye."

Then, rather unceremoniously, he snapped the phone shut, and glared at the man in the doorway.

******Sheryl******

"Well...he certainly is the rude one," Sheryl muttered, staring at the phone, and then at Lavi's confused and worried expression. "He hung up," he said simply. "Said he would get a few items, but..." he trailed off. "He said he might not be able to leave wherever he is, and that he'll call back when he can."

Each word, though, made him cringe as the boy's expression steadily darkened-

"Um, you do...know where he is, right?" Though he had a feeling the boy didn't.

'Oh dear.' Who had he just invited to stay over?

"I--no, I don't..." Lavi admitted, sighing. "I'm worried 'bout him, though. An'--I'm sorry he's so rude. He's...not a people-person. An' he's really protective over me, whether he admits it or not..."

He paused, thinking if there was anything else he should say, then-

"Uhm...could I have my phone back, then, or--I guess ya still need it, right? For when Yuu calls back...?"

Sheryl looked down at the phone in his hands. "Well...you need to go back to sleep--it would be best for you to, just in case he does end up coming for a few hours. In case you want to talk to him." It was obvious they would want to talk to each other, of course. "So I suppose it would be best if I kept it with me--at least when I leave the room." He paused, watching the boy's lone green eye flash tiredly.

"Though, quite honestly--I don't blame him for being protective. If you were mine, I'd be protective too~"

Goodness, he loved the little blush that spread across the boy's cheeks.

Lavi couldn't help the small squeak of embarrassment he let out, nor the--Damnit, he was blushing again, _wasn't_ he?

"W-Well..." And damnit, he hated how he stuttered. "I'm not 'his', if that's what you're insinuating..."

Bah. It didn't help that he couldn't even _see_ Sheryl. He could be molested (not that he thought he'd particularly _mind_, so long as it didn't hurt...), and he wouldn't even have any warning.

Sheryl let out a chuckle, leaning in closer to the teen. "Well, even if you _aren't_, he still cares about you very much~" And he knew if he wanted to, he could have, well, done something--patted the boy's knee, stroked his cheek--but he did nothing--instead, pulling back and sitting down on the chair he had pulled up some time ago, and picking up the bandages he had dropped so carelessly to the floor.

"Now then, we need to change your bandage. I don't have much left, but it will have to do for now."

Lavi's blush deepened and he nodded.

"Okay. Jus'...gimme warning before ya touch me...okay? I--can't actually _see_ anything right now..." And perhaps, that was the most embarrassing part of it. He already had only one eye, and now he couldn't even _see_ out of it. Fate was cruel. Especially to him, it seemed.

Sheryl tutted. "Don't worry, I will--and I'm sure that part will go away after a good sleep." He picked up a roll of bandages, before shifting up and onto the bed. He could see the boy tense unintentionally as he leaned over. "I'm going to touch you now~"

He felt his lips twitch as the blush flared up on the boy's cheeks. Oh--this would be _fun_.

"Ah--Okay..." Lavi mumbled, turning his face in the _opposite_ direction from Sheryl's voice. Stupid goddamn blush.

And _why_ was his heart pounding like that? That...wasn't right. Maybe there was something wrong with his heart, too...?

Sheryl smirked inwardly at the boy's futile attempts to hide his blush, and leaned in closer, touching the boy's shoulder as lightly as he could--working until the bandages fell away, and…frowning.

"It certainly _is_ bleeding again." He let out a sigh, and began to re-bandage it, making sure the bandages were tight, but not overly so--and goodness, he loved how every time he got his face close to the boy's skin--he would blush this very nice...endearing...blush~

"There, done." Unfortunately, it was over faster than he would have liked, but he still kept his hands on the boy--appropriately placed, of course--watching--just watching as he squirmed lightly under his touch.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, you know." He did his best to sound mildly offended, and it seemed to work when the redhead stopped squirming, and almost looked ashamed. "I wouldn't do something to someone who was down for the count--so to speak."

'Nor would I take one into my home.' He had always been good about that--leaving his sexual exploits out_side_ the home, that is.

"I'm--I'm sorry," Lavi mumbled. "Just--I guess I'm just not used to...being touched like that, constantly. Especially when I can't _see_. I hate feeling defenseless--which unfortunately, I very much am right now."

He sighed, and looked up to where he _thought_ Sheryl's face was. Apparently he'd thought right, and Sheryl was _much_ closer than he'd expected, as he could feel the man's _breath_ on his face. Surprisingly, the proximity didn't bother him.

"So--sorry if I offend ya, just--well, I'm sure you can imagine why I'm a bit on-guard right now...?"

Sheryl blinked, surprised when the boy turned to him, then, slowly, he felt a smile form on his lips. "I understand." Though normally--after someone voiced protest he would convince them he wasn't doing a thing. Convince them, yes--convince them, but-

This boy wasn't them. So he pulled his hands away from the boy's shoulders, and patted his knee. "Are you cold? Would you like a shirt? Unfortunately yours is a bit bloody--I had thrown it out--but...I may have one that will fit you. If you don't mind of course."

"Uhm...actually, yeah. That'd be great, thanks." He tried to smile--it _felt_ like he did it right--and hoped that it worked well enough. But damnit, he could _still_ feel himself blushing!

Not to mention, his heart was still pounding in that so-not-normal, I-should-probably-be-worried way--and he _was_ worried--even after Sheryl had left the room. And his face just kept feeling warmer and warmer, with each second that passed. He was sure he looked like a strawberry, by now. And when he heard Sheryl finally re-enter the room, the pounding in his chest got worse.

**--**

It didn't take very long to find the boy a shirt, thankfully--he might have been shorter than him, and maybe a little slimmer, but at least his shirts ran the risk of being too big rather than too small, and soon Sheryl found himself walking back through the very familiar guest room door.

To a very apparently blushing redhead.

"I found you a shirt," he said. "I chose green--hope you don't mind, it was the first that I found that would fit." Or that he thought would fit, anyway, he thought as he walked over to the bed, and sat down once more by the boy's hip.

He reached his hand out to give the boy the shirt, but then paused. "I'm going to touch you now. To help you put on the shirt." And without even a word of consent he rose on his knee--making the mattress sink just a little--and maneuvered the shirt so that he could get it over Lavi's head.

Then, carefully, he helped the redhead's arms through--being careful not to agitate or shift the bandages (he certainly hoped this 'Kanda' boy called soon with bandages, considering he didn't have enough to make another decent covering for the wound), and then pulled it down the rest of the way, hiding the creamy skin of the boy's lower stomach from view.

Then he looked up--oh dear.

"You really _do_ blush easily."

And suddenly, the pace increased even _more_. Lavi sucked in a breath, and didn't even notice as his fingers dug tightly into the duvet. He was--so--close. And suddenly, Lavi realized--maybe that was the 'problem'. Only--it wasn't really a 'problem' at all. Not a medical one, anyways. In fact, now that he thought about it, it seemed...rather...obvious.

He was developing a crush. A big one.

...On Tyki's brother.

And just then, his face went impossibly brighter.

Suddenly the heart-beat picked up even more, and, well--hm, that was interesting too--wasn't it? Sheryl pulled back, and looked up-

Oh.

He felt his lips twitch at the boy's expression--shocked (he oh so did love shocking people), but...soft too. My, he wanted to see _that_ expression more. But...

"Lovey?" The boy tensed, and turned to him, eye just a little wider than it had been. "Don't you think it would be good if you slept for a while?"

******A few hours later******

Lavi didn't know _when_ he'd fallen asleep again...only that he'd just now woken up. He cracked his eye open slightly--just to see if...well, if he could _see_--and there, sitting on the chair next to his bed, was Sheryl.

The redhead was immensely grateful that the man wasn't currently looking at him, as just then, his earlier realization hit him full-force. He quickly snapped his eye shut--not quite wanting to face reality yet--and a soft noise left his lips, halfway between a squeak and a groan. He couldn't help it. And so--just in case--he shifted just slightly, pretending to still be asleep.

**--**

Sheryl wasn't quite sure when he had started to doze off, but when he cracked his eyes open, he knew it couldn't have been too long--it was still mostly dark out, and the figure in the bed was still sleeping.

He felt his lips twitch into a soft grin, as the boy shifted again--seemingly restless in whatever dream he was having (he certainly hoped it wasn't about whoever caused those horrible wounds)--and scooted closer, watching, intently as the boy attempted to roll to his uninjured shoulder only to yelp and move back.

'Oh my.' It really was quite amusing, wasn't it? He hummed lightly--watching as the boy shifted again.

Maybe he knew he was watching him?

But the lone uncovered eye remained sealed shut. So no, that--couldn't be it, could it?

'He probably doesn't even know I'm still here.' Ah--that posed an interesting thought. He hummed, as he leaned forward to tug the covers up to Lavi's chin (just in case the boy was cold).

'He doesn't know I'm this close to him, does he?' he wondered again, brushing a strand of hair away from the redhead's face, watching as the eye moved quickly under the eyelid--yes the boy _must_ be dreaming.

He smiled. 'Would he notice if I...?' No--what was he thinking? What was he--? Well...he looked at the teen again, who obviously wasn't peaceful. Who obviously wasn't enjoying whatever dream he was having.

'This could help...' Though he knew Tyki would reprimand him for it later, and maybe he would reprimand _himself_, but he decided not to bother with it, instead leaning forward--and-

He barely brushed his lips with the boy's, when suddenly--and very _obnoxiously_--the phone rang.

Not just any phone. Lavi's cell-phone.

'Oh dear.'

He turned to pick it up, and turned back--fully ready to wake the boy if it turned out to be his friend--but-

Oh.

His lips twitched into a smirk, when he saw a lone green eye staring back at him.

'He was awake?'

Lavi blinked as he caught Sheryl's gaze, and suddenly-

Well, there went his blushing reflex again. Goddamn it.

He--he--Sheryl had just _kissed_ him. Or...tried to. The contact was bare-minimum, but still! He--it was the thought that counts, right? Or the action, or--whatever.

"I--" And he realized, he didn't know what to say, so he instead pointed wordlessly to his cell-phone, which was _still_ ringing.

Which unfortunately--yes, Sheryl _did_ have to answer that, didn't he? Yes, yes he did. So he sighed, and flipped it open, recognizing the number almost immediately.

"Hello~?" he said too cheerfully, for the simple fact that he knew the person on the end probably wasn't.

/Ah, it's you./

"Who else would it be?" Sheryl chuckled, shooting Lavi a smile (oh--the boy blushed again!)--"Lavi's awake yes, but where are you? Do you need instruction--"

/Che, I'm outside your fucking house _now_. Open the damn door./

Sheryl blinked, completely taken aback. "How--do you know where I live? Didn't you say--"

/Apparently, people fucking know you. Now--door--open...please./

And then he hung up.

Lavi's blush deepened even more, and he all but squeaked out--damnit!--"He--Where is he? He got your address?"

Lavi was still horrendously flustered, and so he hoped against hope that the other boy was at _least_ a good ten minutes away. Just so that he could get his wits back in check.

"No, apparently he's right outside. He just asked me to let him in." He looked over at Lavi's flushed face. "Though...if it helps--I can try to stall him with conversation? He _did_ after all, bring fresh bandages and such--oh, and painkillers, since I was running low."

Lavi sighed, and shook his head--though he soon stopped, as--well, it didn't feel too great right now. "Go figure, he'd have extra painkillers..." the teen muttered bitterly.

"Well...okay. But--don' bother tryin' to stall him--it won't work. An' he _hates_ pointless conversation. Jus'...show him in here, I guess."

"Well...if you say so?" Sheryl watched Lavi for a moment, before heading through the door--watched as he took a calming breath but, well--he hadn't missed the bitter words the boy had said before.

'Extra painkillers? That doesn't sound good.' Not that he would question it, of course--as he made his way to the door and opened it to reveal-

A frazzled looking teen of maybe eighteen--and even though the boy was very unkempt (clothes horribly askew though his jacket hid it well)--he was...gorgeous. Inhumanely gorgeous. It nearly took his breath away, but then the boy pushed passed him, and the feeling was gone.

**--**

Kanda scowled when he saw the man--a good deal taller than him (he always fucking hated that)--and staring at him like everyone else always fucking _did_.

Like he was some fucking doll to be _looked at_ and--he shook the thought away, and shoved past. "Che--where's that idiot?" He turned to look at the man, who was still staring at him dumbly, but seemed--also--offended?

Like he gave a fuck.

"He's this way." Though the man seemed to understand that he meant 'hurry the fuck up', and quickly lead the way through a very spacious living room (with a kitchen off to the side--it reminded him of Tiedoll's place. No. He wouldn't think about _them_ now), and then down a short hallway.

To a room with the door ajar.

And in that room? A redhead with flushed cheeks, a pained expression and--worried eyes (well, eye).

Somehow Kanda didn't exactly know what to say.

**--**

Lavi's eye lit up when he saw his best friend come through the door--even if his blush _did_ grow a little brighter--and he outstretched his arms. Well--arm, as he had to drop his left one immediately, when the movement pulled uncomfortably at the wound.

"Yuu~!" the boy exclaimed, finally able to smile fully, and sincerely. If Yuu was here, then everything would be alright. At least-

-He hoped. There was the chance--a high one--that Sheryl would still--well, be Sheryl, even with Kanda here. In the room. Lavi definitely wouldn't put it past the man. But as long as he didn't try to be...'awkward' with _Yuu_, then...

And no, Lavi was _not_ jealous. He just didn't want Sheryl to get hurt. And _no_ he wasn't worried about the man. Nor was his blush darkening. No, no it most definitely was _not_.

Kanda made his way towards the bed, shooting the pedophile a deadly look, before turning back to Lavi. "Che--you're awake," he mumbled, dropping the pack to the ground next to the chair, before sitting on the bed. "Your wound--?" He wanted to see it, just to see if the man had wrapped it correctly.

No, he didn't know _that_ much, but he did know a little more (considering one time he had to re-wrap some of Marie's bullet wounds) than most.

...And that definitely wasn't Lavi's shirt.

Lavi hesitated, but conceded after a moment. He tried to lift his--Sheryl's--shirt over his head, but stopped, wincing. "Uhm--help, Yuu? If ya wanna see it..."

Then, "An' why is your hair down? You _never_ wear it down in public! I mean--not that I don't like it, just--I'm curious, y'know?" He paused, thinking. "...And you never gave me my hug, bastard."

Kanda frowned and helped pull the shirt up over Lavi's head, discarding it quickly and carelessly on the floor, and--not even caring that the guy was _watching_ him (pervert)--took the boy in a gentle, but quick, hug before pushing him back to inspect the wound.

Well, it was wrapped well enough, though it should have been tighter (he tested it out just a little, ignoring when Lavi winced, but stopping when he hissed), and--well--

"Does it fucking matter why my hair's down?" But he had seen the redhead's nose crinkle, and he knew what was coming next. Syringe

"Well--no, but--why the fuck do you smell like smoke?" Lavi suddenly asked, scrunching his face up distastefully. "It...smells absolutely disgusting. Were you smoking? Where have you _been_?"

And then, suddenly, he remembered why he was at Sheryl's house in the first place.

"I tried to call you! Earlier, when he--after he left me alone. I called, and called, and you never answered! If Sheryl hadn't walked by--" And again, he couldn't prevent the light blush that painted his cheeks when he said the man's name. "Where did Yuu _go_?"

Sheryl's eyes widened slightly at the worried tone Lovey held--and for a moment he had to wonder--had the boy lied earlier? Who was this 'Yuu'--Kanda?--person?

But somehow, through all of that--he realized, maybe he should...slip out. Yes. That seemed like a good idea, so he took a few steps back until he was out in the hall--shutting the door as quietly as he could. True, he _could_ be nosy but--if it were important, he would find out later.

******Kanda******

Kanda scoffed at that. "You live with a fucking chain smoker--you should be used to the smell. And no, I haven't been. That's one thing I _won't_ do."

Well, shit that could be taken two ways _couldn't_ it?

He let out a sigh, almost glad that this 'Sheryl' man had taken the memo, and slipped out. This wasn't something the man needed to hear--fuck, they had just _met_, and--

And Lavi was giving him _that_ look--meaning he couldn't lie.

"A bar, apparently." Because that wasn't a lie. Not...really. "Downtown."

Lavi remained silent for a few moments, digesting the information. Finally, the boy nodded.

"The one thing... So--you do everything else? Or--Yuu _would_ do anything else?" He didn't like that--didn't like it at all. But--oh well. "You said...'apparently'. How could Yuu have not been sure? Were you--you were stoned, weren't you."

It wasn't even a _question_. Lavi was sure--he just wanted Yuu to admit it.

"Che, again--_apparently_." And he was so fucking disgusted with himself. "And smoking's disgusting--you think I'd be able to do half the fucking stuff I do at school while having fucked up lungs?"

He just...didn't mind...having a fucked up brain, maybe. Or, well, Hell--he didn't know how much he actually had in his system, and yes that made him uneasy. Just a little. From the look on the idiot's face--that showed, just a little.

And it hurt that he couldn't entirely wipe it off--change it--make the idiot _not worry_, because he was, and--

He really needed to learn another word besides _apparently_. People apparently never handed that word well.

"How--how can you Yuu not know when you're stoned!?" Lavi growled, brows furrowed in a combination of frustration and utter confusion. He lifted his good arm, and promptly knocked his friend on the top of the head. Lightly, of course.

"You're--just--in denial," he decided, nodding. He was _right_, damnit.

"You'd say that too, if you couldn't fucking remember what the hell you did for the past 4 hours." He hadn't realized those words had slipped out--or that his hand had somehow grabbed Lavi's before it could retract back--and now he was playing with the man's _fingers_, damnit.

"I wouldn't call that 'stoned'. Or--I _was_ but...not anymore. Not when I fucking woke up there."

"...Oh," was all Lavi said. It was all he _could_ say, as he looked down at their now conjoined hands, his eye transfixed. Kanda was being...awfully friendly. And--touchy. Like Sheryl. And there went his heart again, but this time, he didn't know _who_ it was beating for, even as a light layer of pink dusted his cheeks.

"But...you're okay, right? Like--nuthin' bad happened to Yuu?"

"..." He continued to play the boy's fingers, because that--"I...think...I..." He let out another sigh, and raised their conjoined hands--resting them against his forehead.

"I think I did something fucking stupid." Because it wasn't just _did_ anything bad happen to him, he already knew--"I woke up on a bed in one of the back rooms with a fucking syringe, and a half empty pack of--_something_. I. Don't. Know."

Lavi froze, his hand going limp in Kanda's, but--he nodded. He understood. Sort of. Even though it hurt. And he didn't even _realize_ he was crying--at least, his eye was watering--until he felt the tears run down his cheek. And even then, he ignored them. They didn't matter, not now.

"Yuu...promise me--you'll be careful, at least? If you won't stop--though I _want_ Yuu to stop--then--at least...be careful?"

'If I can even remember fucking doing any of that shit.'

'If I can even fucking keep a promise for once.'

'If I can--shove them all to fucking Hell, and forget.' But that brought up painful memories--and the fucking idiot was _crying_ now.

"Che, I promise." The words should have felt heavier. They didn't. Even when he reached out to brush the tears away, to scoff at the serious expression on the other's face--"Now worry about yourself for once."

Because he knew he wouldn't keep it.

Lavi nodded, and hugged the other boy, burying his face in the junction of the other's neck. He didn't _quite_ believe Yuu, but--he wanted to. And even if--for some reason--he didn't _keep_ his promise... But no--Lavi wasn't going to think about that right now.

"Why do I need to worry about myself, when I got Yuu an' Sheryl worryin' about me?" he asked, smiling. And the question was only half joking.

"Because, baka, you need to worry about yourself _too_, sometimes." And as if on cue, the door cracked open, and Sheryl peered in. For once, Kanda couldn't find it in himself to be particularly angry. He only hoped the man hadn't overheard.

Sheryl took his lack of--well--doing much of anything, as a cue to come further into the room. "I couldn't help but overhear that last bit," the man's eyes focused on how Lavi still clung to Kanda's middle--and Kanda noticed the boy flushed, almost like he was...embarrassed? Interesting--"and...I agree. You really _should_ worry about yourself more, after something like this happens. After all, we can only do so much."

Then he smiled a knowing smile--as if he understood the concept far better than they did. "Which reminds me; would either of you like something to drink? It's obvious none of us will be falling back asleep anytime soon--except maybe you." His gaze fell on Lavi--who just blushed a little brighter--"Might as well."

Lavi blushed at the almost-admonishment, but seemed to perk up quite a bit at the offer of a drink, and he smiled brightly at Sheryl, not caring that Kanda was _right_. _There_.

"Ah, yes please!" he exclaimed, a bit of life coming back into his eye. "Uhm...whaddaya have?"

Sheryl smiled lightly at the boy's suddenly cheerful expression.

"Well I can make a good hot chocolate--or rather, hot cocoa. It's originally alcoholic but I can take the alcohol out if you'd like...?" He trailed off, looking between the two. Honestly--yes, he had heard bits and pieces of the conversation (had blocked his ears, but the doors _were_ thin), and had heard the mentioning of being 'stoned'.

If the beauty sitting on the bed next to Lavi had just woken up from being _stoned_, then he wasn't quite sure alcohol would be the best thing. And for Lavi, it was out of the question.

Lavi shook his head vigorously--then stopped, as it sort of hurt--and made a face.

"No alcohol, please," he declined, and then looked at Kanda. "None for Yuu, either. But--hot cocoa _does_ sound _really_ nice right about now, Sheryl. Thanks.

And for once, Kanda had to be grateful that Lavi made the decision for him. He did _not_ need more alcohol--coupled with whatever the Hell he had taken--he didn't know how the fuck he'd react to it, and he'd rather _not_ spend the rest of the morning over the fucking toilet.

So when Sheryl gave a nod and a smile, and left the room, he let out a sigh--and relaxed--falling back on the bed (mindful of Lavi's legs, but not really). _Damn_, he was tired.

Lavi looked down at the dark-haired boy, and smiled softly. The other teen was lying perpendicular to the bed, his head in Lavi's lap. It was--really quite amusing.

"Ya tired, Yuu?" the redhead asked, running a hand through the Asian's bangs; then patting his cheek lightly.

"_Che_. Like I could fucking sleep, with the damn music going," Kanda groaned out--and no, he wasn't leaning into the boy's touch. No, he absolutely wasn't. He was just tired. Lavi was just familiar. It just worked out that way.

******Sheryl**** **

Sheryl hummed slightly, as he stood over the stove, mixing the correct amount of water, with the correct amount of cocoa and sugar. This would _definitely_ be good. Oh yes--if there was something he didn't fail at, it was making drinks.

In fact, it almost reminded him of when Tyki used to live with him (even though that hadn't been for...oh, a few years now)--he always loved his hot chocolate.

'Hopefully they will too~'

It took a few more minutes for the ingredients to mix, and soon the concoction was bubbling away (he had added nutmeg and cinnamon to the mix as well--a little kick never hurt anyone did it?), and soon he could take it off the stove to cool. There, he added the correct amount of vanilla for two people, stirred it, and then poured it in the two mugs he rarely ever used anymore--plain simple mugs that he had gotten back in Portugal before they had moved--and added the whipped cream.

With the drinks nice and warm, he placed them on a tray, and headed back to the room; mindful of corners or anything obstructing his path--he did _not_ feel like spilling this. Not now.

...Though the scene he was met with when he entered the room was--well--it made something flare up. A little flame. A little annoyance somewhere in his chest. Lovey and the man (who was still far too beautiful to even look _human_, but he was. Living and breathing)--were talking, lowly, sharing tired words between friends, and--

It wasn't until he coughed lightly that Lovey looked up, and _smiled_, cheeks slightly flushed.

"By _God_, Sheryl, that smells amazing just from _here_!" Lavi exclaimed in surprise. Then, he added with a light giggle, "Obviously, Tyki didn't get his kitchen skills from _you_. Or, well--whatever kitchen skills he actually _has_."

His smile brightened when the man brought the drinks over, handing one to each of them before sitting back in the chair. The redhead closed his eye, and brought the mug up under his nose, inhaling deeply, before taking a careful sip. Ouch. It was still too hot. And then-

-Lavi opened his eye, and it was alight with mischievous intent.

"Hey, Yuu~" he cooed in an irritating, rabbity manner, scooping some of the whip cream out of the mug with his finger, and dolloping it on Kanda's nose. Then, he leaned down--

And licked it off. Giggling madly the whole time.

Sheryl froze--watching as Lavi leaned down and _licked_--yes licked!--the whipped cream off his friend's nose. Watched as the boy simply scowled and Lavi's giggle, and suddenly he felt horribly out of the loop. So. Very. Horribly.

**--**

"Wha--?" Kanda felt the whipped cream (light and fluffy), then the tongue. "_Baka_." But the idiot was giggling, and grinning like all was right with the world. So--to get his attention of course--he dabbed his fingers into his own whipped cream and dabbed it on the boy's own nose.

Yes, it was childish. Yes, he'd probably be mortified with himself in the morning--but fuck if he cared--

...Fuck if Lavi did either (which he didn't seem to), as he started to complain--started to _order him_ to lick it off.

"Gah--_Yuuuuu_!" the redhead whined, and he would have--_would_ have--wiped his nose, had his assailant not grabbed both his wrists, smirking evilly all the while. Lavi frowned--seeing Sheryl scowl out of the corner of his eye--and then--

"Fine. _You_ lick it off, then. Right now!"

Kanda's eyes widened at the boy's statement.

'What?' But he looked serious--as fucking serious as idiot rabbits could--with that pouting scowl that _wasn't_ attractive. Not one bit.

And he could feel Sheryl's eyes on them, burning holes into the back of his skull--was he jealous?

"Che, fine then," so he leaned down and licked the cream off, smirking at the idiot's bewildered expression when he pulled away. "What? You fucking thought I wouldn't do it?"

The boy swallowed.

And Sheryl was horribly, horribly jealous. That little flare growing in his chest was now a full-blown flame--igniting when he saw the ebony haired boy lean down and lick the cream easily off the redhead's nose.

...Wait, since when had _he_ been the one for elaborate metaphors? Since when had he been the one to be--well, okay, he _did_ have a jealous streak, what of it?

And before he could necessarily think, the words slipped out. "My, my, and you two are just _friends_?"

Immediately they pulled away from each other, Kanda back to sitting and--oh, there was a little bit of cream left on Lavi's nose~

Sheryl smirked, and leaned in, not even caring when his hand landed somewhere between the Japanese boy's thighs, and lapped the rest of the cream off.

Did he mention he _loved_ making the boy blush?

When Kanda had licked the cream off of Lavi's nose, Lavi had been surprised, to say the least. But when _Sheryl_ had mimicked the action, he could have fainted from the shock, and--no, he was _not_ turned on by that! Absolutely not. No way.

But when Sheryl pulled away, smirking at him like--oh Gods, how could someone so _old_ be so damn _sexy_? He was blushing again. In fact, it wasn't so much a _blush_, as it felt like his face was on _fire_.

Oh dear...he hoped it wasn't too obvious.

Except it was. What the fuck? That certainly sent warning bells off in the back of his head--but...not bad ones. Kanda just hoped Lavi wouldn't be the fucking idiot he _always_ was, and--

...Why the fuck was the man's hand literally _on his crotch_?

Normally he would have brandished Mugen at him (or at least swatted the hand away), but now--he was--well...shit. The drugs did more to him than he _thought_.

"Che, baka, your face is red."

Lavi tensed, and immediately his eye focused on him, then falling into his lap--where the hand _still_ was, and--

"Fucking pervert, move your hand."

Lavi's eye widened in surprise and--_why_ was Sheryl's hand there?--he growled softly, not even realizing the sound was coming from him.

No. No, he was _not_ jealous. Absolutely, 100%, not.

But--what if he _was_? Sheryl was--he was--his _hand_---and Lavi found that he didn't like it at all. His eye narrowed slightly, and--well, maybe he _was_ a bit jealous. And only a bit. But--so what?

Huffing softly, he turned his whole head away, a light pout on his lips.

'Oh my~' Sheryl smirked. "Goodness, you're blushing so hard! Whatever is the matter?"

Kanda almost snorted. Almost. But really, "Move your fucking hand. Now." Because it was getting uncomfortable, and that place had been _touched_ much too recently for his liking. By someone he didn't necessarily like. And--fuck, he didn't want those memories to come back--go away--go away--go away--

"Oh? The little kitty cat really doesn't like being touched?"

Kanda tensed. 'Oh, fuck no.'

And Lavi's eye whipped back around them--wide and disbelieving.

Yes. Yes, he _just_ did. And he really did deserve the prompt kick to the gut

Lavi cringed, but he knew--he _knew_ Sheryl had deserved that kick. Though it didn't mean he wasn't worried about the man--a little bit. He gave Kanda an apologetic look, mouthing the words, 'Sorry, he's just...like that'.

Then, turning to Sheryl, he put a hand on the man's chest--and no, he didn't _mean_ anything by it!

"Yeah, uhm--you really should keep your hands to yourself, Sheryl. At least where Yuu's concerned. It--gets ya hurt, as you--now--know. You okay?"

"Apparently--yes...I do..." Sheryl wheezed, straightening up as much as he could, before looking up at the feline. "Terribly sorry, won't do it again."

Kanda glared. "Of course you won't." Then, words ice cold, "Grab my crotch again, and you _die_."

Sheryl cringed at the thought. 'Good lord.' And really--he _couldn't_ straighten up anymore--how hard could that boy _kick_?

But, well, that didn't seem to matter much, when the redhead next to them currently started to giggle. And not just _any_ giggle, but--

"That's not fucking funny."

Oh, but apparently it _was_.

Finally, after a few minutes, Lavi's giggles died down, and he sat up straight--_finally_ removing his hand from Sheryl's (very well-defined) chest, and setting it back in his lap.

"Ne...s-sorry, Yuu, but--it was just--Yuu sounded so goddamn _funny_!" he exclaimed, bursting out into a new fit of entirely unmanly 'laughter'.

Kanda frowned. "That isn't funny." Except he knew he wouldn't stop the idiot from laughing--even if it agitated the wounds (not that he hoped the redhead was _worrying_ about them while laughing)--laughing now was good. Probably. Maybe.

And maybe that fucking pervert got it too? With the silent question on his lips, that slowly died away as realization hit.

And they shared a look then--pervert, and asshole aside--and Kanda knew--the man couldn't be _all_ that bad, if he understood that. That one simple rule.

That one simple rule that made his stomach clench, because he never did the action enough, and goddamnit he wouldn't start making it a regular thing.

So instead, he ruffled the redhead's hair, and said, "Che--be careful, your wounds are going to open again."

"And shouldn't you two finish your drinks?" Sheryl tacked on, with a smile.

No, Kanda Yuu didn't do familiar family feelings either. Fuck no. He just continued to pet the redhead, and watch him sip the cocoa--get whipped cream on his lip, and then lick it off.

They just watched

Roughly five minutes later, Lavi had finally finished his cocoa, and--with a soft sigh, and a _very_ satisfied smile--he set the now-empty mug down on the nightstand. He turned to look at Sheryl, and his smile grew brighter.

"That tasted _amazing_, Sheryl~" he gushed, eye lighting up. "Where did you learn to _make_ it like that? I'm definitely gunns hafta try the alcoholic version, one of these days..."

He didn't tell either of his companions, but his wounds _were_ starting to hurt a bit again. Especially the stab-wound in his shoulder. But--he didn't want them to worry, sure that it would stop after a while. He would just--need to be careful. And not move around anymore.

"Aha, well I'll make sure to serve it for you. But when you're better." Sheryl took the mug from the nightstand, and looked over at Kanda's still half full one--"Are you going to drink yours?"

Kanda shrugged. "Chocolate isn't my favorite." But he did take a sip--for courtesy's sake. And then another for good measure--well, it was rude when the man let him in at nearly 4AM in the fucking morning.

"If you're sure." The man stood, and moved back a bit, wincing, and Kanda almost smirked. Almost. "I'll be right back, then."

It was only when the man left that he got a whack on the back of the head from the idiot red head.

Kanda couldn't help but notice the flinch--the grimace--the--

"Your wound," he stated blandly, and Lavi jerked his hand back. "Che--did it open again?"

He hated how apologetic the boy looked.

"Do you need any painkillers? I made sure to grab them." The redhead shot him a dirty look. "What? They're just Tylenol."

Lavi blushed, and looked down. "...Why do you have so many, Yuu? Are you--addicted to those, too?"

And then--he thought of something else. But--he was almost afraid to ask. Even though he _knew_ it was necessary.

"Ne...what was it Yuu gave me, yesterday mornin'? For my migraine...? That wasn't Tylenol..."

Kanda turned to the side, busying himself with looking for the small bottle he had miraculously remembered to chuck into his pack before he left.

"No." Even though the idiot knew it was a lie. "They're prescribed to me. For...something. The reason why I _have_ so many, is because I _don't_ fucking take them when the psych--doctor--_they_ say I should." Oh, fuck no, he wasn't going that deep.

"They get rid of my headaches extremely fast, though--the downside is--fuck yes--they can be addictive. Hence why I keep them hidden, or else I know those brats would overdose on them the second they got in my house."

He found the bottle, and dumped one out. "Only taking one or two--not every fucking day, but maybe once or twice a week, won't do a damn thing. It's the only thing I have on me." He paused again. "And they...obviously...are painkillers, so they do that too."

Lavi nodded, but he didn't quite believe his friend. Though, by this point, he figured that if Yuu was _still_ going to lie to him--well, he must have a pretty good reason. And so, he would trust him. For now.

He sighed, and held out his hand for the small pill, hesitating for only a moment, before popping it in his mouth. The redhead realized too late, that he didn't have any water, and made a somewhat disgusted face as he was forced to swallow the pill dry.

Kanda blinked at him, and then smirked. "I would've given you some of my hot chocolate if you _waited_." Though he supposed from the look on the man's face--he still wanted a drink, so he held out his hot chocolate and watched as the contents were drained--and only the whipped cream was left.

"Now we need to check your wound." Kanda murmured, moving closer--hands reaching for the shirt that was very obviously _not_ his.

Lavi blushed, almost feeling ashamed, but then, he had an idea. He brought the mug to his lips again, sipping up the cream till whatever remained was now on his lips, and -

"Ne...Sorry Yuu, but I think I finished it... Though, there's still some whip cream left, if you want it." He smirked, pointing to his mouth. He knew Kanda would take the offer. He just hoped Sheryl didn't choose that moment to walk in. Though he felt guilty--why? It wasn't like Sheryl actually _liked_ him--he just couldn't resist teasing Yuu. Plus, the older boy _was_ an amazing kisser.

Kanda blinked when he watched Lavi down the rest of the liquid--what was he---? Oh. Oh. He more than got it, when the boy smiled at him, whipped cream covering his lips _like something else that he wasn't thinking of_.

Yes, he more than got the hint.

Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss lightly to the boy's lips--not even caring that the pervert could walk in at any minute, and--

Then Lavi moaned.

'Damn, he tastes sweet.' Except he didn't entirely mind it this time.

Didn't entirely--until the door opened, and he was pretty sure the man was in mid sentence but--stopped.

Dead in the doorway, and--when they finally broke the kiss (Lavi tensing, but only a little bit. Good.), the man coughed, uneasily, murmuring the words, "I...see..." before slowly shutting the bedroom door.

Lavi's eye widened in horror, and embarrassment, and he continued to stare at the door long after it had closed behind Sheryl.

Well shit. Go figure. As if he'd ever have a chance with Sheryl _now_. Wait--what? He did _not_ just have that thought. No. Because he didn't _care_, right?

Oh, who was he fooling, anyway? Probably no one. Lavi groaned, and--ignoring the sharp spark of pain it caused him--slammed his face down into his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Ahh...fuck."

Kanda jolted when the redhead slammed his head down into his hands, eyes widening slightly. Did the idiot really--? With the next muttered curse, it more than proved his point.

"Idiot."

**xoxox**

_**Author's Note: **_Terribly sorry again for the lateness of the chapter. I feel like I'm (Harmony283) the main one to blame for it because I always forgot to send it back after reading through it. *bows head*

But yes, it's here now (right in time for…well, at least _my_ spring break)--I hope you liked it!

Have questions? Comments? Loved it? Have CC? Send it via review, we'd love to hear from you!


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